


The Love of a Painter

by Brisingr_Vodhr



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-21
Updated: 2012-06-20
Packaged: 2017-11-08 05:31:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 34,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/439683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brisingr_Vodhr/pseuds/Brisingr_Vodhr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Naruto has given up on ever finding love, or even being accepted, so he is shell shocked when a new student enters his English class.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sai

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fulofhyperness](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=fulofhyperness).



> This was yet another request fic, and it is my longest story to date.

 

_Beeeeeep, Beeeeeeep, Beeeeeeep._

I groaned and hit the snooze button on my alarm clock. I absolutely  _hated_  mornings. They are just the bane of my existence.

I sighed and got out of bed. I put on a pair of pants that I found lying on the floor and put them on. I had a very bad habit of not cleaning up. I just couldn't find the motivation to do so. There was no point.

I went to the kitchen and fixed me my breakfast of ramen and milk. It was what I had every morning.

After I was done eating, I went back to my room and got completely dressed. I put on a long sleeve shirt that would hide the scars on my wrists. I hated to have those out in the open. I was tired of answering questions about them.

Once I was dressed well enough, I gathered up my backpack and walked out my front door, being sure to lock the door behind me. People have a tendency to break into my house and destroy everything. No one really likes me because of what happened when I was just a baby. My father was a scientist and he genetically altered me. Ever since, I have had inhuman stamina, strength, speed, and energy. Everyone views me as a monster because I am so different. My dad died shortly after because he tried to inject himself to alter his DNA. It backfired and killed him. I don't even know his name.

Now don't get me wrong. I don't blame him. I still love him. I know that he did it to try and make my life better. He tried to make it to where I would have better opportunities. I just wish that he could have been there for me.

I have no family. My dad died like I described and my mom died shortly afterwards. I had no other family. I am always trying to make new friends because I just want to feel loved. I am so far past being embarrassed to admit that. It hurts when you have no family and everyone around you hates you. It hurts so much that you contemplate suicide more often than not.

I walked all the way to school. The school was about three miles away from my apartment, but I didn't mind the walk. Seeing as how I had to walk because the bus was just too dangerous, I usually got up so early that no one was around. Therefore, no one was around to beat me up. I know that I could seriously hurt them, but what is the point? People already fear me enough that if I were to hurt someone, then they would fear and hate me even more.

When I approached the school, I detoured a bit. I went in the back way because a bunch of bullies always hang out near the entrance to the school. I had befriended one of the teachers who didn't like the way that I was being treated. His name is Iruka, but everyone calls him Sensei.

I walked in and quickly made it to my first period class: Algebra. I hate math so much. I know that it is really important, but it is just so hard. I get most of it, but it is so time consuming that it leaves little to no time for things that I want to do.

Everyone thinks that I am an idiot, but I surprise people all of the time. I am only a freshman, but I am in sophomore English and science. I also take Creative Writing. I love science and writing, so I decided to try and get in an advanced placement in them.

I took my seat in the back of the class. I always sat in the back because it meant that people would have to turn around to glare at me. Most of the people who took the classes that I do are just too lazy to be doing that. Or they don't care about me. Or both. It's hard to tell sometimes.

Ten minutes later and the other students filed into the classroom and took their seats. No one glanced twice at me and I was thankful for that. After another five minutes, the teacher, Kurenai, walked in. I was on pretty good terms with most of the teachers, so I always tried to stick near one so that I don't get into fights. The principal, Tsunade, was actually rather fond of me. The funny thing was that she was also the Hokage. She had so much on her plate that it wasn't even funny. I always think of her as my grandmother. She had huge boobs, not that I looked. I am not into girls. She also had blonde hair, hazelnut eyes, and a weird birthmark on her forehead. I say weird because I have never seen a birthmark that was blue. Then there was the vice-principal. I have always wondered how he had gotten his job because he seemed to me as the biggest pervert to have ever lived. He is constantly looking at girls, and even if I knew that he wouldn't do anything, it still made me wonder how he even got hired. His name is Jiraiya. He had long, white hair that was constantly pulled back into a ponytail. He was always nice to me. He always believed that I would make something of my life. I always thought of him as my grandfather.

Algebra went by smoothly and I gathered my stuff and left. I quickly rushed to my second period: advanced biology. It is one of my favorite classes because I am just so fascinated by learning everything I can about life. It helps me feel closer to my dad. I know that he was interested in all of those things.

That class went much as the first. The teacher, Asuma, was actually pretty cool, but he had a nasty habit of smoking during class. I didn't mind, but there were a few people in the class that were asthmatic. I didn't know their names, but I felt bad for them when they started to go into a coughing fit.

My third period was PE. The teacher, Kakashi, was really weird. He had a face wrap around his mouth, silver hair, and a headband that constantly covers his left eye. He was also always reading a book. He was weird because he had the uncanny ability to sense when someone wasn't doing what they were supposed to. He would rat them out without even looking up from whatever he was reading. I was one of his favorite students because I always did what I was told to do. I think that some of the kids resented me for this because Kakashi could get really scary when he was mad.

Unfortunately, that day in PE was a dodge ball day. I groaned when I heard this because I had the worst luck when it came to dodge ball. Even though my dad had made me stronger and faster, he didn't change my balance. I was still clumsy. Whenever it was dodge ball, I was more likely to hit my own teammates than anyone on the other side. Not to mention that everyone on the other team always went straight for me. It was like I had a huge neon sign above my head that said, 'Look at me! I'm the kid that you want! Throw your balls at my face!'.

Surprisingly, I managed to do decent enough. I only walked away with a few bruises. Another thing that sucked about dodge ball was that when people aim at me, they tend to throw it really hard. Hard enough to leave bruises. I have thought about bringing it up to Kakashi, but I know that he would tell the principal. I know that she would call the parents of the kids. When the learned that their kids had hurt me, I had a feeling that instead of scolding their kids, they would congratulate them on a job well done. I didn't need to go though that, so I just kept my mouth shut.

After third period was my Creative Writing class. The teacher for that class was Yamato. He was really good with writing and he had a really good knack for poetry. When I hear him recite poetry, it was like he was born for it. He was so good at it that you couldn't help but love poetry when he spoke it.

Fifth period was my history class. I always hated history because I found it so boring that I found myself nodding off at times. That is why I had requested to take it later in the day. I wanted to take it while I was awake. You might not expect it from me, but I really wanted to do well in school because I wanted to get out of this place. I knew that I could get a scholarship for a good school if I did well. I would try my hardest to get good grades so that I could attend a college far from Konoha.

My last period of the day was AP English. That was by far my favorite class. Iruka sensei was the one who taught it. Every time someone tried to hurt me or rile me up, Iruka would be right there to yell at them. I will be eternally grateful for that. I was also happy because it was the one class of mine that I didn't have to sit next to anyone. I know that everyone hates to sit next to me and, apparently, so does Iruka. So, because of that, I got a table to myself. That is, until today.

I got inside a bit late, fully expecting to get yelled at for being late, but I realized that he was late as well. I got slightly concerned because Iruka was never late.

_'What will I do if he isn't here? He is never late. The substitute will probably hate me just as much as everyone else. Please just let him be late.'_ I thought to myself.

As it turns out, Iruka had a really good reason for being late. When the door opened, I looked toward it expectantly, but was a bit surprised when a boy my own age walked through. I felt a thrill at seeing him. He almost looked like one of my old boyfriends.

There was this guy that I had dated around sixth grade. His name was Sasuke Uchiha and he was so fucking gorgeous. I dated him until his parents died. Apparently, Sasuke's older brother was a psychopath and killed off his entire family. He stayed at my apartment for the night and I held him close to me as he cried his eyes out. I felt so terrible for his pain that I just couldn't bare it. I needed him to cheer up. I just had no idea how to do it. Before I found out what to do to cheer him up, he left. He had to move to his uncle's, Orochimaru.

The guy that walked through the door looked a bit like him, but he was actually a bit cuter. He had raven black hair, eyes that were so dark they almost matched his hair, and a weird smile that I found endearing. Then I looked at his clothes. I felt my eyes bulge a bit. He was wearing a shirt that ended just before his bellybutton started. It left an expanse of pale skin that I found extremely enticing.

I couldn't help but stare at him. I didn't care if he noticed or not, I just wanted to memorize every detail on his face. Then Iruka came in and I mentally scolded myself.

"Hello everyone. Sorry for being late. I wanted to make sure our newest student made it here okay. Everyone, this is Sai. He will be joining us for the rest of the year, so I expect everyone to treat him with respect." Iruka said. I cringed when his words brought forth memories that I didn't want in my minds' eye.

I remembered when he said those words the day that I came in. Unfortunately, that didn't stop people from hating me. I wondered briefly if this new kid would get the same treatment. Then I remembered that he wasn't like me. He would probably get along just fine. I suddenly felt extremely alone. I knew that he would never like me. He probably wouldn't even want to talk to me. And I couldn't just deny the fact that I felt attracted towards him.

I was doing a good job of hiding my emotions until Sai started to walk. Iruka was walking behind him and they were headed straight for me. I started to panic. I didn't want someone else to hate me. I looked around and realized that there were no empty seats. That meant that he would have to sit next to me.

_'Just my luck.'_  I thought.

 


	2. An Inquisitive Painter

 

Iruka and Sai were walking straight towards me and I knew that Sai would have to sit next to me. There weren't any other seats open, after all. I cursed my luck. Why did the one person that I felt attracted to have to sit next to me. Knowing me, I would probably make a fool of myself in the first hour. I didn't want to ruin a possible friendship because I felt attracted to someone.

They stopped in front of my desk. I looked into Iruka's eyes because I knew that if I looked at Sai, I wouldn't be able to look away. What I saw in Iruka's eyes softened me to the situation. At first, when I knew that he would be sitting next to me, I was scared because I thought that he would treat me just like the others did. However, when I looked into Iruka's eyes, I knew that he would never let that happen. He would protect me.

"Sai, this is Naruto Uzumaki. You will be sitting with him for the rest of the year. I expect you to treat him nicely." Iruka said before walking back to the front of the class.

I heard the chair next to my scrape across the floor and a body sitting in it. I risked a quick glance at Sai and wished that I hadn't. He was staring at me. Not glancing, but actually staring.

"W-why are you st-staring at m-me?" I stammered. I cursed my voice because I never stuttered. I just couldn't help it. My heart was beating a mile a minute and I just wanted to touch Sai's face. I had had this feeling before, but never at this magnitude. I had no idea what to do.

"What is the matter Naruto Uzumaki?" Sai asked me. I shivered when I heard his voice. Even though it sounded almost emotionless, I couldn't help but be aroused by it. In my opinion, it sounded like a challenge. I felt an almost overwhelming urge to try and force him to have emotion in his voice. Preferably, with him screaming my name to the heavens while I pound into him mercilessly.

 _'No Naruto. You can't get turned on in front of him. That would be the most embarrassing thing in the world. You MUST NOT think about those pretty lips around your prick. DO NOT think about him kissing you. AND WHAT EVER YOU DO, DO NOT THINK ABOUT HOW SEXY HE WOULD LOOK NAKED ON YOUR BED!'_ My traitorous mind screamed at me.

I groaned and my head hit the table. Probably harder than I meant it to because everyone around me laughed. Iruka told them to hush down. I looked up and met his eyes. I could see that he was concerned, but I plastered a smile on my face. He smiled uncertainty back and continued talking. Not that I knew what he was talking about, of course. My mind was currently completely occupied by the alabaster god sitting right next to me.

It took me another minute to realize that Sai had asked me something. I was completely focused on the timbre of his voice that I didn't even hear the question.

"Wh-what?" I asked brilliantly.

"I asked what was the matter Naruto Uzumaki." He repeated. I forced myself to listen to the question and not his rich voice.

"What makes you think that something is wrong with me?" I asked. I congratulated myself for keeping my voice steady while inside, I was in turmoil.

"I do not show emotions, so I have become very good at noticing other people's. I can sense that something is wrong with you." He said. I found that I liked the way he talked. He just sounded so formal that I wanted to kiss his lips again.

"There is a lot going on with me. It's hard to pick just one thing. Why do you care anyway?" I asked. I didn't mean to sound so harsh, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. I wanted him to be my friend, possibly even more than I should have, but I thought that if I did get my hopes up, he would start to hate me.

"I care because I like you. I have heard what people think of you. I decided to make my own opinion. I do not agree with what the others have said. You seem like a very nice person and I want to get to know you better. Will you allow me to do that?" Sai asked. I hadn't ever heard anyone say something like that before, so I was a bit confused.

 _'I guess it couldn't hurt if I let him get closer to me. I have gone through heartbreak before, so I think I can handle it if it doesn't work out.'_  I thought to myself. With that in mind, I answered.

"If that's really what you want. I would love to have a new friend. Thank you." I said.

Sai and I were quiet for the rest of class. When the bell rang, I was about to leave the classroom when Iruka called my name.

"Naruto. Would you stay for a few minutes? I need to talk to you." He said.

"Of course Sensei." I said. I pulled up a chair to his desk. He didn't start speaking until everyone had left the room. Then he looked at me with worried eyes.

"You aren't mad at me for making Sai sit next to you are you? I would have put him somewhere else, but there weren't any other places open. I talked to him just before we came in, trying to get him to be nice to you. He wasn't mean to you was he?" He asked. I chuckled at his flustered appearance.

"No. He was actually pretty nice. He doesn't have much emotion, but I am hoping to change that. Honestly, I think that I might have made a new friend. I appreciate you asking if it was okay with me though. You are like the father that I never had." I said. I saw him smile at me and I found myself smiling back.

"Good. I was a bit worried when you groaned and hit your head on the table. What was that about?" He asked inquisitively. At first, I wanted to lie to him, but then I remembered that if I couldn't tell him, then I had no right to think of him as my father.

"Iruka. Can you keep a secret?" I asked.

"Of course I can Naruto. What is it?" He asked.

"Well. I'm kinda... gay. I think that I might be attracted to Sai." I said.

Part of me was expecting him to be disgusted at me for even saying that I liked the same gender, but I was pleasantly surprised.

"That makes sense. Can you keep a secret in return? I am too. I am going out with Kakashi." He said with a blush. When I heard this, I laughed.

"You are going out with the PE teacher? Wow. Well, as long as you are happy, that's all that matters." I said. It was Iruka's turn to laugh then.

"Hey! That's supposed to be my line." He said. We both laughed for a bit before finally calming down. I looked at the time and sighed. It was already 4. Sunset was only an hour away.

"What's the matter?" Iruka asked me.

"I need to get going if I want to make it back home before dark." I said.

"How far away do you live?" Iruka asked me incredulously.

"Around three miles away." I said. Iruka's eyes bugged out of his skull for a minute.

"And you walk to school every day? How do you get here on time? School starts at 6 every morning. How the hell do you get here on time?" He asked me. I could plainly hear the shock in his voice.

"I have to get up at around 3:30 in the morning so that I can shower, eat, and make it to school early." I said, pride in my voice. I knew that I had impressed Iruka.

"That is really impressive, but you are going to end up hurting yourself. How about I give you a ride home today?" Iruka asked. If it had been anyone else, I would have declined right on the spot. But it was Iruka-sensei.

"All right. As long as you don't mind. I don't want to be a burden to you." I said.

"Of course not! I wouldn't have offered if I thought you would have been a burden. Just let me finish doing some things here." He said.

An hour later and I was unlocking the door to my apartment. I smiled when I thought back on my day. So far, it seemed that this was going to be a good school year.

I did all of my homework and decided that I should turn in for the night. It takes a toll on your body to wake up so early and have to stay awake for so long. I needed to sleep.

I managed to get to sleep, but my dreams were constantly visited by a certain raven. I could hear his emotionless voice and I yearned to touch him. Safe to say, it was a night filled with tossing and turning and getting up. I just couldn't seem to stay asleep.

At around midnight, I finally got so exhausted that I fell asleep. I didn't dream again.

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock as always. At first, I was really tired, but then I realized that I would get to see Sai again today. When I remembered that, I was filled with a ton of energy.

I leapt out of bed and was halfway to the bathroom before a thought hit me hard.

 _'Is it unhealthy for me to be this excited to see him? I only met him yesterday. I shouldn't want to see him this bad.'_ I thought to myself.

I knew that I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about him, so I just let it go. I couldn't force myself to stop thinking about seeing him. After all, I had already found some things in my home that would remind me of him. He was everywhere. I sighed. Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

I couldn't believe how long the day took! Usually, it didn't feel like school took that long, but today, it seemed like it took an eternity. I knew the reason, I just didn't want to admit to myself that he got to me so bad. I was constantly glancing at the clock. The only interesting this was in PE.

I was just jogging around the track, like I was supposed to, when Kakashi pulled me aside. At first, I was worried. I thought that I was in trouble. That feeling intensified when he led me back into the gym. I gulped when he turned towards me, but he didn't look angry.

"So... I know that Iruka told you about the two of us." Kakashi said. It was such a far cry from what I was expecting that I didn't know what to say.

"What? You thought you were going to get in trouble? Why? You never do anything wrong. You are my star student." Kakashi said. I smiled at that and found my voice.

"Yeah. Iruka told me. I told him that I liked a guy in his class, and he told me that you two were going out. I am happy for you guys." I said truthfully. I saw the corners of his mask pull up, so I assumed he was smiling. It was so hard to tell with him.

"I have a request. Would you please keep that to yourself? I don't want anyone to know until Iruka is ready to tell. I have no qualms about going public, but he does. I just wish he knew how much that hurt me." Kakashi said, almost to himself. When he realized that I was still there, he hurried me out to join the rest of the class.

By the time English rolled around, I was positively a bundle of nerves. I couldn't wait to see Sai's face, and that thought scared me. I didn't know what to do about any of it, and I hated that feeling. The feeling of being in control of your body but not how it feels, the emotions going on inside it. It scared me that I was falling so hard and so fast for a guy that I barely knew.

When Sai came in, it was like my whole day lightened up. I could feel myself smiling from ear to ear, but I just couldn't bring myself to care. He sat down next to me, and I felt like my long day had been worth it.

"Good afternoon Naruto. You seem more cheerful today. Why is that?" Sai asked.

"I guess I am just happy to see you is all." I said.

"Why is that I wonder." Sai whispered to himself. I had a feeling that I wasn't supposed to hear it, so I said nothing.

Iruka walked in shortly after Sai and announced something that should have thrilled me, but instead made me extremely nervous.

"All right class. Today will be the start of your first project. You are to do a paper on the pros and cons of having a Hokage. You will be paired with the person sitting next to you. Working by yourself is not an option. This is to help you get to know each other better. It will be a five page essay, with no less than a thousand words. It will be due a month from now." He said.

"Well, looks like you are my partner Naruto." Sai said.

 _'Why me?'_  I thought to myself.


	3. Secrets in a Journal

 

"Well, it looks like you are my partner Naruto." Sai said. I looked over at him and saw that he was smiling. It might have just been wishful thinking, but I swear that it wasn't like his other smiles. It almost looked as if he truly meant to smile, instead of forcing himself to.

"I guess so." I said before I returned my attention to Iruka again.

"The rest of this class period will be spent going over a plan of action with your partner. If you have any questions, then feel free to ask them. Other than that, I expect you to get along together." Iruka said before he went back to his desk. Once he sat down, I mumbled an excuse to Sai and got up. I walked over to Iruka's desk and dropped into the chair that was in front of it.

"Iruka-sensei. Did you do this for me?" I asked quietly. I didn't want anyone to know that I had a thing for the new kid.

"And if I did? I just want to see you happy Naruto. I was thinking that you could use this time to get to know him better. Who knows, he may even like you the same way. Only time will tell. I am trying to give you that time." Iruka said. I had to hand it to him, it sounded like it might work. I just didn't want to get my hopes up.

"All right. Thank you Iruka. Oh, and by the way, before I forget, you should really come out of the closet about you being with Kakashi. I think that it is hurting him." I said. I was about to get up when Iruka's voice stopped me.

"What do you mean you think it's hurting him?" He asked. I could tell that he was worried, but I wasn't going to sugar coat it for him. That wouldn't have helped at all.

"Well, I know that I would be hurt. I would think of it as you would be too embarrassed about being with a guy that you didn't want anyone to know. That would hurt me a lot. Try putting yourself in his shoes." I said. Before he could stop me again, I slunk back to my seat.

"So, Naruto. How do you want to start on our project?" Sai asked once I sat down. I tilted my head to the side, thinking.

"Hmm... I think that maybe we should go to the library after school so that we can research all of the different Hokage." I said.

"All right. That sound like a good plan." Sai said. I frowned at him. He seemed really distracted. I wanted to know what had his attention so that I could beat the crap out of it.

 _'Now, now Naruto. You don't want to do that. He would just give them more attention.'_  My inner conscience said. Sometimes I hated the logic that my conscience gave me. It sucked.

The rest of the class period was spent in silence. We had already figured out a plan of action, so there wasn't much to talk about. I knew that I could have started to ask Sai about himself, but I honestly couldn't find the courage. I was just too afraid of people overhearing and getting the wrong idea. Or, even worse, getting the right idea and spreading it throughout the entire school.

After the bell rang, I walked to the library. I thought that Sai would have to go to the front of the school so that he could tell his parents that he had to stay after school, so it surprised me when I saw him walking beside me.

"What are you doing Sai? Don't you have to tell your parents that you have to stay after school?" I asked. Honestly, I was hoping that he did have to go and see them, if only just a little bit. It would have given me a break from my emotions.

"I don't have any family. My parents died when I was young. I don't remember them at all. I have been told that I used to show a lot of emotion, but I think it stopped when my parents died. I have lived by myself ever since. What about you? Shouldn't you be doing the same thing?" Sai asked, almost like he was curious which made me a bit suspicious.

"Are you asking that out of kindness or because you are curious?" I asked. I didn't mean to sound bitter, but I had serious trust issues.

"Neither. I am not a very social person. I read in a book that you should ask people that you like what their life is like." Sai said. I felt my heart lurch when he said that he liked me.

 _'Grow up Naruto. He probably meant that he liked you as a friend.'_ My inner voice said. Sometimes, I wish it would just die and leave me in peace. Apparently, that was a bit too much to ask.

"Sorry for snapping at you. To answer your question, my parents died shortly after I was born." I said. After that, we walked to the library in silence.

* * *

After about an hour, we didn't have much. There just wasn't much on the Hokage. We had been searching through all of the Hokage except for the Fourth. There just wasn't much on him, so we had decided that there wasn't any point. However, after an hour of practically nothing, I decided that it wouldn't hurt.

I walked down to the shelf that had all of the books about the Fourth Hokage. There wasn't much, so I just picked it all up. I was about to turn around when I saw another book. Now normally, that wouldn't have mattered, but this book looked like it was a journal. I picked it up and read the title, intrigued.

**Minato Namikaze's Diary**

I dropped all of the other stuff and ran to where I could sit down. I couldn't explain my enthusiasm. The only thing that I can think of now, having lived through it all, was that I knew what it contained. I don't know how I knew, but I had a feeling that the contents were really important.

"What is that Naruto?" Sai asked. I glanced at him.

"I think it is the Fourth Hokage's diary." I said with barely contained excitement.

"Hmm. That is strange. Why would that be in a library? You would think someone would put that somewhere safe." Sai said. I paused a moment and realized that he was right. This book belonged at the Hokage's Mansion with all of the other personal belongings of the previous Hokage. Then I realized that I would never get another chance like this again.

"Let's look in it." I said. I looked at Sai and saw him shrug. With that out of the way, I opened the book.

I flipped to a random page. My plan had been to skim the page and flip to another one. However, things happened quite differently. What rooted me to the page were two words. Naruto Uzumaki. My name.

 _'Why the hell is my name in the Fourth Hokage's diary?'_ I thought to myself.

I went back to the top of the page. The date had been worn away, but I couldn't care less.

_"My son was born today. He has my hair and eyes, but his mother's face. He looks so beautiful. However, I know that I can help him. All I have to do is inject him with the gene. He will have so many opportunities that he won't know what to do with them. After him, I will inject myself with it. Then I can be his equal and see him to adulthood. My son. Naruto Uzumaki. The legacy of the Fourth Hokage. I couldn't be prouder."_

After I was finished with the passage, I re-read it again and again. I probably would have continued to read it had Sai not chosen that moment to speak.

"What does the diary say?" He asked. I could plainly hear the curiosity in his voice, but I was too dazed to congratulate him for the emotion. It wouldn't sink in. I couldn't be the Fourth Hokage's son. I knew where I had to go to get answers, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to know them.

"Naruto. Please say something. You are acting very strange." Sai said. It might have been my imagination that time, but I thought I heard concern. It thawed me out enough to speak.

"He was my dad." I said under my breath. When I realized that Sai hadn't heard what I had said, I raised my voice.

"The Fourth Hokage was my father." I said. It wasn't until I heard myself say it that it finally registered. My eyes started to tear up.

"It's okay Naruto. Everything will be okay." Sai said.

"Why do you only show emotion around me?" I asked, desperately searching for a change of topic before I was overwhelmed with grief.

Sai looked at me strangely before he answered. "It's because I trust you Naruto. You are the only one here that I like. I haven't had to deal with this before, but I find myself saying that I wouldn't have it any other way." Sai said before he smiled. I widened my eyes when I saw it. It was like his other smiles, but also not. It actually had warmth and emotion in it. To put it shortly, it was beautiful.

"I think I need to go home Sai. I will see you tomorrow." I said. I picked up the book and got up.

"All right. Good-bye Naruto." Sai said.

* * *

When I walked out into the night air, I breathed in the fresh air. So little had happened, but that one little thing completely shook my world. I knew that I needed answers. At first, I wanted to just go home so that I could sleep on it, but then I realized that I wouldn't be able to sleep without knowing. I groaned and adjusted my course. There was only one place that I could get the answers that I sought. I just hoped that Granny Tsunade wouldn't be mad at me for seeing her.

It took the better part of half an hour to get to the get to the mansion. I looked at it and swallowed. I hugged the book close to me and took a deep breath.

"There's no time like the present." I said out loud. I walked in and was greeted by Tsunade's pet pig, Tonton. She oinked at me and I smiled at her. She walked down a walkway and came back a minute later with Shizune in tow.

"Hello Naruto. What brings you here at this time of day?" She said.

"I need to see Tsunade. It's urgent." I said. Shizune looked at me weirdly and walked back the way she came. I waited for about five minutes before she came back.

"Follow me and I will take you to see her." Shizune said. I gladly followed and walked into the Hokage's office. Tsunade was sitting in the chair with her hands under her chin.

I suddenly felt a bit dizzy. ' _My father sat at that chair.'_ For some reason, this really got to me.

"Naruto? Are you okay? Shizune, you can leave now. Thank you for bringing him to me." Tsunade said. Shizune smiled and left.

"What's the matter Naruto?" She asked.

"Who was my father?" I asked bluntly. I didn't want to beat around the bush.

"Wh-what? Why ask that all of a sudden?" Tsunade asked. I could see how her eyes darted away from me though. That hurt more than I thought it should.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked. I broke down into tears. I rolled down to the ground and hugged my knees to my chest.

"Naruto? What the hell is going on?" Tsunade asked. I could hear how much this was hurting her, but I couldn't seem to stop crying.

When I finally calmed down enough to speak, I looked at Tsunade. She looked back, slightly fearful. My guess is that she was afraid that I would break down into tears again.

"How do you explain my name being in this?" I asked, holding up Minato's diary so that she could see it. I had hoped that she would say that it was just a prank by one of the people in my class. However, she just looked at the book, and then looked at me. I could see it all in her eyes. This wasn't a prank and Tsunade had known who my father was all along.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why? Why would you betray me like that?" I asked Tsunade.

"I couldn't tell you until I knew you were ready. When I heard that you would be doing a project on the Hokage, I realized that it was time to tell you. I had Shizune place the book with the other books for the Fourth Hokage. If you didn't find it, then I would tell you. I just wanted you to hear it from him." Tsunade said. I could tell how hard it was for her not to tell me.

"Will you please forgive me Naruto? I didn't mean to hurt you." Tsunade said. The strange thing was that I actually felt sorry for her. She had had to carry that secret around for my entire life.

"Of course I will forgive you. I know that you never meant to hurt me. I was just shocked more than anything else." I said.

We just stayed there for a few minutes before I wearily got to my feet.

"I should probably be going home. I need to get home, and it will take me awhile before I get home. I want to get there before dark." I said.

"You can't walk home. You should sleep here." Tsunade said.

"I would like that, but I can't seem to sleep when I am not in my own home." I said.

"Oh. All right. At least let me drive you home." Tsunade said.

I started to protest that it wasn't necessary, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. I sighed and agreed.

* * *

When I got home, I curled up in bed and tried to get to sleep. However, my mind wouldn't shut down. It kept thinking about Sai and my dad. I was just so confused. One thought kept replaying over and over though.

_'What do I do now?'_

 


	4. First Kiss

 

When I woke up, I had that brief moment where you forget everything. Then, of course, reality had to catch up to me and I remembered who my father was. The biggest question that I had was why he would do that to me. It didn't seem like enough that he would try and make more opportunities for me. I had a feeling that there was something more. However, I had no way of knowing for sure. I guess that would have to do.

I got up and got ready. When I remembered what day it was, I groaned. It was Friday. Most people would be ecstatic about it being Friday because they didn't have to go to school, but that was exactly why I hated it. School was the only time that I could go out without fear of being hurt. On the weekends, people have a tendency to camp out around my apartment and attack me when I leave.

"This sucks. Why did you have to do this to me dad?" I asked out loud.

I made it to school earlier than usual, so I just sat at my desk and thought about things. I avoided any thoughts having to do with my father. Mostly, I thought about Sai. I was so involved in thinking about him, that I didn't even realize that he had stepped into the room until he spoke.

"Hello Naruto. You are here early." He said.

"Hi Sai. I try and get here early because people love to hurt me, so I get here before them so that I don't have to deal with it. Why are you here so early?" I asked. I didn't know why I told him the reason I was here early. I just felt the need to explain myself to him.

"I am here because I wanted to get out of my house. It is a shame that it is Friday." He said. He actually sounded a bit wistful.

"I know what you mean. Hey, if you want, you could stay over at my house for the weekend." I said. My thoughts were an entirely different matter.

 _'Why the hell are you inviting him over? You know that you are attracted to him, so why put yourself through that? I swear, sometimes it is such a chore having to go through all of this.'_ The voice in my head thought. A long time ago, I had decided to call the voice in my head Kyuubi, after the drug that my father gave me. It seemed fitting.

"Why would you invite me over to your house? You barely know me. Aren't you afraid that I will kill you in your sleep?" He asked. I was taken aback at that that I actually laughed.

"Why would you think I would be afraid that you would hurt me?" I asked back.

"I read in a book that people are afraid to invite strangers into their homes because a lot of people are really bad." Sai said.

"Honestly, you don't seem like a bad person to me. First of all, you put up with me, which is more than I can say for most people. Why do you put up with me?" I asked curiously. I honestly wondered why he did.

"Because I feel for you." He said cryptically.

"What the hell-" I said before he darted forward and placed his lips to mine. My body locked down and I couldn't think about anything other than the lips against my own.

Before I got a chance to return the kiss, Sai had pulled away. He looked at me with a smile and the bell rang.

"I will see you in class Naruto." Sai said. I blinked after him and touched my lips. They were still tingling. I remained in that position until people started to stream into the door.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. I was so caught up in the memory that I got every single question that was asked of me wrong. I know that I was probably disappointing my teachers, but my mind would not let me be. The fact that time seemed to be going by like molasses didn't help my situation. I just wanted it to be time for English so that I could confront Sai about what had happened.

By the time English came around, I was practically jittery with nerves. I didn't know what was going to happen, but I had a feeling that things weren't going to be the same. I was a bit saddened by it. I didn't know if Sai would still be my friend after it, but I hoped so. Well, I hoped for more, but I wasn't going to get my hopes up too much.

I walked in a bit late and saw Sai sitting in the regular spot. He looked up when I came in and smiled at me. I remembered everything as if it had happened a minute ago and I blushed madly. I quickly made my way to my seat, but almost tripped over a foot. Someone had thought that it would be funny to trip me on my way to my seat. I just brushed it off.

"Hello Naruto. Would you give me a minute? There is something that I must do." He said. He got up and I followed his progression through the room with an attentive interest. When he stopped in front of the person that had almost tripped me, my breath caught in my throat.

I could see them talking, but even with my really good hearing, I couldn't hear what they were saying. I wasn't very good at lip reading but I did make out my name on Sai's lips. That thought made me shiver. When Sai walked back, he brought the kid with him. He had long hair, pale, almost colorless eyes, and a weird headband around his forehead. He stopped in front of me and looked at Sai. What was weird to me was that he seemed almost  _scared_ of Sai.

"I-I'm s-sorry Na-Naruto." He said before he ran off. I saw his friends give him a weird look before they went back to whatever they were doing.

"What did you do?" I asked with shock in my voice. I couldn't believe that he had gotten someone to apologize to me. That had never happened before.

"What do you mean? I just wanted him to apologize for treating you so badly." Sai said.

"Well... thanks." I said before we lapsed back into silence. I was working on getting the courage to ask Sai what had happened, but it was actually pretty hard.

 _'There's no time like the present.'_ I thought to myself.

"Hey Sai? What happened this morning?" I asked. I couldn't think of any other way to phrase it.

"I kissed you. I read in a book that that is what you do when you have strong feelings for someone. I wanted to be sure though, so I read book after book and everything added up. Every time I am near you, I get this weird feeling in my stomach, I get hot, and I started to actually  _feel_  again." Sai said. He put extra emphasis on the word feel. It made me happy that he could have emotions around me.

"I am happy to hear you say that. I feel the same way about you." I said. When he heard it, he graced me with a heartfelt smile that tugged at my heartstrings. All I wanted to do was pull him down in for another kiss. I would have done it too, in front of the entire class, had Iruka not spoken.

"All right everyone. We are going to go to the library today. I need all of you to research on your project." He said. With that one declaration, I remembered what had happened the previous day. I couldn't believe that I had actually forgotten about it. All because of the alabaster god sitting next to me.

"I need to talk to Iruka, Sai. I will be back, okay?" I said. He nodded and I got up. I went over to Iruka's desk and stood there, waiting to get his attention.

"Yes Naruto? Is there something I can help you with?" Iruka said. When he looked up, he looked into my eyes and I saw understanding in them. "Come on. You need someone to talk to. Give me a minute while I call the office and have someone brought here."

He dialed the number and talked quickly. Once that was done, he looked back at me and smiled. We waited and soon, there was a knock at the door. Iruka got up to answer it and Kakashi walked in.

"What's the matter Iruka?" Kakashi asked. I could hear the concern in his voice, but I chose not say anything.

"I need to talk to Naruto. Will you look after the class for me?" He asked. Kakashi nodded.

"Of course I will Iruka. Anything you need." Kakashi said.

"Thank you." Iruka said before he kissed Kakashi. On the mouth. I heard people gasp and I saw that Iruka held it long enough that everyone in the class got a chance to see.

When Iruka pulled back, Kakashi was still rooted to the spot, a dumbfounded look in his eyes. Iruka and I quickly walked out, oblivious to the whispers that circulated around us.

"I am glad you did that Iruka. Kakashi should be very pleased. No one can spread rumors like high schoolers. This should get around very quickly." I said approvingly. Iruka smiled at me and then turned serious.

"So... what is on your mind Naruto?" Iruka said. I was a bit hesitant to tell him, but I needed to confide in someone. There was no one better than Iruka.

"I know who my father was." I said. Iruka knew that I had no idea who my father was, so it didn't surprise me when his eyes widened in shock. What I didn't expect was the look of guilt in his eyes.

"You already knew, didn't you Iruka sensei?" I asked. Surprisingly, it didn't make me mad. I just wish he would have told me sooner.

"I had my suspicions. Who do you think it is?" Iruka asked. I could tell that he wanted to be sure that he had it right.

"The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze." I announced.

"I knew it. You look so much like him. You have his eyes and hair." Iruka said. I smiled a bit at that.

"All right. I am going to exempt you from this assignment. You need time to adjust to this. Of course, Sai will be exempted as well. Like I said, you can't work alone. Unfortunately, I have no idea how the students will react to this." Iruka said. An idea popped into my head and I smiled brightly.

"That's okay Iruka. I have an idea. When we get back in, tell the class that you have exempted me from it." I said. Iruka looked at me strangely, but ushered me inside.

"Class, I have an announcement. I need everyone's attention." Iruka said. When he had it, he looked at me questioningly. I nodded at him and smiled. "First of all, I am going to cancel the library session for today. Second, I have decided to exempt Naruto and Sai from doing the assignment." Iruka said. I got the reaction that I was expecting. I knew the class would break out.

"Why the hell does he get to have a free pass?" A girl with bubble-gum pink hair asked. I knew that her name was Sakura Haruno.

"Because my father was Minato Namikaze, The Fourth Hokage. I have just recently found this out. I need some time to adjust to it." I said.

"How the hell do we know that you are telling us the truth?" A kid asked.

"He is. If you look close enough, you can see the resemblance. He has the Fourth's eyes and hair." The kid that almost tripped me said.

"You know what? I think you're right Neji." A guy in back said. The guy in back had red triangular tattoos across his cheeks. He almost always wore a leather jacket.

"Thanks for sticking up for me Kiba." The guy who almost tripped me said. I took that to mean that he was Neji and the guy with the tattoos was Kiba.

"All right class. Does anyone have any objections?" Iruka asked. A few people raised their voices. "All right, I will give you a chance to speak, but first, I want to say something. Put yourself into Naruto's shoes. Imagine what it would be like to have lost your parents when you were little more than a baby and then not even remember them at all. And, of course, don't forget that everyone in the village hates you. Imagine how you would feel." Iruka said.

By the end of Iruka's little speech, I was almost crying. No one had ever stood up for me like that. I looked at Sai and saw him smiling happily in my direction. I smiled back. My mind, however, was going haywire.

 _'Maybe things will be different now.'_ I thought.

 


	5. The Secret Comes Out

 

When Iruka was done, the whole class went silent. We waited a few minutes before I went back to my seat. We wanted everyone to get a chance to speak out against me. When no one did, I just shrugged and walked. I could feel their eyes on me, but I was determined not to show how much it got to me.

"I am proud of you Naruto. I am glad that you went up there and spoke in front of everyone. That must have taken a lot of courage. Especially for you." Sai said. Normally, someone would get mad at a comment like that, but I knew that he meant that I was brave for talking out in front of people that hated me. I looked over at him and smiled.

"Thank you Sai. You have no idea how much that means to me." I said seriously. He smiled at me and I was reminded of the smile that he gave me just after he kissed me. That made me blush and turn away.

The rest of class went smoothly. I was a bit annoyed that everyone kept turning to stare at me. It made me feel so self-conscious. I hated that feeling. I liked being invisible.

"What is on your mind Naruto?" Sai asked.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked automatically. That was my standard response when someone asked me something like that.

"I want to know because I find you very interesting. Also, you looked like you were deep in thought. I was wondering what had your attention so entirely." Sai said. I smiled at him. He was just too good to resist.

"I was thinking that I would prefer to become invisible. I hate it when people stare at me." I said without thinking. When I saw Sai's eyes fall, I realized how that must have sounded.

"I didn't mean you! I meant all of the people that hate me. I wish they wouldn't bother. They think I am so far beneath them. Why even stoop to give me their attention?" I said bitterly. I was surprised at my own anger. I just wanted to lead a normal life, but I lost that chance before I ever even had a say in the matter.

"It's okay Naruto. They will come to accept you one day." Sai said. The way he said it almost made me believe him. Almost.

"I wish that were true Sai. I will be Hokage one day, but I don't even know if that will get them to look at me differently." I said. Even to myself, my voice sounded broken.

"Please cheer up Naruto. It hurts me to see you like this." Sai said. I looked at him in surprise. He was looking away from me and I thought that I saw the faintest color on his cheeks.

"Do you really mean that?" I asked.

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it." Sai said. He looked at me and blushed a bit deeper. I thought back to the kiss we had shared and everything around me ceased to exist. There was only me and Sai. I leaned in closer to him. I wanted to taste his lips again.

_Rrrrriiiiiiiinnnnnggggggg_

I bolted away from Sai. I could hear myself panting, but I didn't care.

 _'I almost kissed him in front of the entire class.'_ I thought to myself.

"Naruto..." Sai said. I looked at him and saw hurt in his eyes.

 _'Damnit! I hurt him. That wasn't what was supposed to happen. GAH! What do I do? Ah, fuck it.'_  I thought to myself. I brought my lips in contact with his.

When our lips connected, I felt a shiver run all throughout my body. I wanted it to go on forever. I heard the gasps around me, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I felt him move his arms around me, and I immediately moved closer to him. It probably would have gone on forever had Iruka not said anything.

"No PDA in class. You know that Naruto." He said. I broke it off and looked at him. I could see the smile in his eyes, so I knew that he was happy for me.

I looked around the class and saw that everyone was looking at me. I swallowed and ducked my head. I peeked up at Sai and saw that he had a huge smile on his face. He didn't seem to notice the people staring at him. Iruka saw the stares and immediately took control again.

"All right everyone. School's out for the week, so get on going. Go on, get. Make sure you study for the project." Iruka said. Everyone tore their eyes off of us and made their way out of the door.

"Well... that was unexpected." Sai said. I laughed at that. I couldn't remember the last time that I had truly laughed.

"You two need to go home too. You have given the class enough to talk about for awhile. I wouldn't push my luck if I were you. Oh, and Naruto. Thank you for the advice." Iruka said. I nodded my head and got up. I gathered my things and walked to the door. When I looked back, I saw that Sai was in the same spot.

"You coming Sai?" I asked. My voice brought him out of whatever trance he had been in and he smiled at me. He gathered his things and stood next to me. Taking both of us by surprise, my hand snaked down and intertwined my fingers with his. I looked at him and smiled back.

"Let's go. We want to make it back to my place before too long." I said. We were about to walk out of the door when Iruka said something.

"Hey, don't do anything that I wouldn't. That means no sex." He said. I groaned and blushed heavily. Sai just stood there and laughed. I started at the sound. I had never heard him laugh before, and it warmed me in a way that I hadn't even thought possible.

"Don't worry Iruka. I will be good." I said. With that, I pulled a still chuckling Sai behind me.

"God. That was the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me." I muttered. I hadn't meant for Sai to hear it, but he still did.

"I think it is kind of sweet. He cares for you quite a bit Naruto." Sai said. I sighed when I realized that he was right.

"I know. I just wish that he would pick his words more carefully." I said.

"Would that have really eased the embarrassment at all?" He asked. I thought about it for a minute before I realized that he was right again.

"I guess not." I conceded. Sai chuckled again and I shivered.

"Come on. Let's go. I want to get home." I said. He nodded with the smile still on his face and followed me.

It didn't take very long to get back to my house. When we came into view, I saw that there were people in front of my house. I groaned.

"What is it Naruto?" Sai asked me. He followed my gaze and narrowed his eyes.

"Let me take care of this." Sai said. I was about to grab his wrist when he turned to face me. He smiled and I knew that he would be okay.

He went to them and I saw words being exchanged. The people around my apartment looked pissed and one suddenly lunged at Sai. I was about to scream when Sai turned around. He looked at the person calmly before dodging him. He brought his knee up as the guy barreled past and hit him hard in the gut. That was all it took for a fight to break out. I wanted to join in, but I had no idea how to fight and I was afraid that I would hurt Sai. I knew that I could hurt someone, but I was next to useless when fighting with someone else on my side. I was more likely to hurt them then the people that I want to hurt.

As it was, it looked like Sai didn't even need my help. He seemed to know what he was doing. He kept dodging them at the last minute and he used their own attacks against them. In no time flat, Sai was standing surrounded by bodies on the ground. He was looking at the guy right across from him. He was huge and he looked mean. I was worried for Sai.

The guy charged and tried to take down Sai, but Sai was too quick. He reached into his bag and pulled out a knife. He jumped in the air at the last second and landed on the back of the guy. He put the tip of the knife to the guy's neck. I saw him speak and get down off of his back. He walked back towards me. While he was doing that, the guy left. By then, the others were coming around, and they fled with him. I looked at Sai with wide eyes.

"What?" He asked. I would have laughed at his tone of voice if he hadn't just done that.

"What was that? Where did you learn to fight like that?" I asked. I knew that I should have been scared because he could kick my ass, but I found that I loved him even more now.

 _'Love? Do I love him? I... I don't know. I suppose it is possible. These emotions seem to be too strong for just a physical attraction.'_  I thought to myself. I was brought out of my reveries by Sai's voice.

"I learned to fight because I needed to protect myself. I didn't want anything to happen to me. Not after I lost my parents. So I learned to fight. Are you okay with that?" Sai asked.

"Of course I am. I just wasn't expecting it. You don't exactly seem the fighting type." I said with a smile.

"And that is my greatest strength. If no one thinks that I can fight, then that means they won't go all out." Sai said. I had to admit that it sounded like pretty good logic.

"All right. Umm... would you teach me to fight like that?" I asked uncertainly.

"Of course I would. I would do anything for you." Sai said. I blushed at that because there was plenty that I wanted him to do.

 _'I don't want to violate him without his permission. Wait. I don't want to violate him. I just want to fuck him senseless. NO! I just want to hear him moan my name. GAH! SHUT UP!'_  I thought. Unfortunately, it seemed like Sai could guess where my thoughts were going because he smiled at me sexily.

"You might not want to do that Sai. I don't know how much of that I can handle." I said.

"What do you mean?" He asked. He seemed so innocent that it made it that much harder.

"If you keep doing that, I won't be able to control myself." I said.

"I don't understand." Sai said, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"I'll end up raping you." I said bluntly, then blushed.

"Oh. But, that wouldn't be right. I read that it is only rape if the other person doesn't consent. I know that I would consent, so you are not making any sense." Sai said. I groaned at that.

"We can't Sai. I want to wait. I want to get to know you better. We have only known each other for a few days." I said. I saw Sai pout and it almost made me change my mind, but I stayed strong.

"All right. I will wait. Just don't make me wait too long Naruto." Sai said. I shivered at his words.

"Well, are we going to go inside or not?" I asked. I knew that it was a pitiful excuse for a subject changer, but Sai thankfully didn't say anything.

We walked in and I immediately showed him around the house. It wasn't until I got to my bedroom that I realized that I only had one room. I decided that I could not sleep in the same room as him.

"You can sleep in here." I said, indicating my bedroom.

"Where will you sleep then? You do not seem to have another bedroom." Sai said.

"I'll sleep on the couch. Please. I won't take no for an answer." I said when I saw him about to protest.

"All right. Just know that I do not approve of this." He said.

He turned to go inside the room and I got a very nice view of his ass. I stifled the groan that threatened to come out.

 _'Shit. This is going to be fucking hard. I have no idea how I am going to keep from molesting him. I just have to stay strong.'_ I thought.

 


	6. Having Difficulties

 

When it came time for dinner, I pulled Sai into the kitchen with me. We talked while I cooked. I asked him a bunch of questions.

"What are your hobbies?" I asked.

"I love to read and draw. There isn't much else unless you consider staring at you a hobby." Sai said. I smiled at that, even though I was blushing like mad. I just didn't know how I felt about the guy.

"All right. When is your birthday?" I asked.

"November 25, 1993. When is yours?" He asked back.

"Mine is October 10, 1993. Hmm... where did you go to school before you came here?" I asked.

"I was doing homeschooling. At the request of a friend, I decided to go to public school. She wanted me to be more social." Sai replied.

"What is her name?" I asked curiously.

"Her name is Hinata Hyuuga. Her brother goes to the same school that we do. You met him today. His name is Neji. How do you think I got him to apologize to you? I threatened to tell his sister, and that got him. See, their families are a bit different. Hinata is in a higher class than Neji because her father was born first. Therefore, she is the heir. It pisses Neji off, but he knows that there is nothing he can do about it. He would still protect her with his life." Sai said. I sat in wonder for a minute. That was the longest I had ever heard him speak.

"All right. Have you had any previous relationships?" I asked once I had found my voice.

"No. I have not found anyone that strikes my fancy. At least, not until I saw you. Have you been in any previous relationships?" Sai asked. I flinched a bit, but realized that if I wanted a relationship with Sai, then I would need to come clean.

"I have. In sixth grade, there was this boy named Sasuke Uchiha. We dated for a year until his parents were killed by his brother. He had to go and live with his uncle, Orochimaru, and I haven't seen him since." I said.

"Do you still love him?" Sai asked. The question caught me so off guard that I sliced my finger while trying to cut some vegetables.

"Shit. That hurt. Ah well." I said before I cleaned the wound. It had cut through pretty deeply, but I wasn't concerned. When I neglected to a bandage on it, Sai looked at me quizzically.

"I heal extraordinarily fast. See?" I said, holding up my already healed finger.

"So it seems. That is a very useful gift. But you didn't answer my question. Do you still love Sasuke?" Sai asked again.

"I'm not going to lie to you. I have no idea. There are times when I crave to be in his arms, but then there are times when I just want to punch him for leaving me like this. Ever since I saw you, I haven't even thought about it. If I do still love him, I think I am attracted to you more." I said while staring into his eyes.

"All right. I believe you Naruto." Sai said. "Do you have any pictures of him? I want to see what he looks like. What kept you so hooked." Sai explained.

"I think I might have one." I said. I went to my room and searched a bit before I remembered where I had put the damn box. I went to my closet and got it down from the top shelf.

"Here. The picture is in there." I said once I got back out. I managed to finish cooking before he said anything again.

"He looks like me a bit, doesn't he?" Sai asked.

"A little, yes. However, I think that you are more attractive." I said with a smile. Sai smiled back at me and we sat down to eat.

"Wow Naruto. This is really good. Thank you." Sai said. "Where did you learn to cook?"

"I just picked it up. I needed a way to keep myself fed. It just came naturally, I guess." I said. After that, we finished our meal in silence.

After we were done eating, Sai said that he had to get something and I did the dishes, setting them on the rack beside the sink so that they could dry. When Sai came back, he was carrying with him a black notebook.

"What is that?" I asked curiously.

"This is where I keep all of my drawings. I have never shown it to anyone, but I can't think of anyone better to show it to than you Naruto." Sai said.

"I'm honored." I said. After a moment of hesitation, he handed me the book. I opened it and my eyes went wide.

"Wow Sai. These are very good. You could make a lot of money with these." I said. Sai just smiled in response.

I turned my attention back to the notebook and flipped through the pages. They were stunning. There were pictures of flowers, buildings, animals, cars, and people. It seemed to me that he drew everything that he saw.

"Wow. Why do you draw so much?" I asked.

"I draw so that I can look back at that notebook and I can remember things. I don't want to forget anything." Sai said.

I flipped to the most recent drawings and my eyes widened even more, if that was even possible. He had devoted the entire last bit of the notebook to me. In it, he had drawn me like I was at class. In the picture, I could almost call myself beautiful.

"Is this really how you see me?" I asked, my voice filled with wonder.

"Yes. You are very precious to me. I don't want to forget anything. Especially not you." Sai said, almost to himself.

"Thank you." I whispered. I knew that he heard it though.

What surprised me the most was when a drop of water fell onto the notebook. I stared a minute at it, wondering where it had come from when another joined it. I wiped my hand across my eyes and was surprised when they came back wet. I stared a minute at my hand too, before I sobbed.

"Naruto? Are you okay?" Sai asked.

"Yeah. I-I think so. I-I'm just... happy." I said before I flung my arms around Sai's neck. I looked him in the eye and pressed my lips to his.

When we broke apart for air, I untangled myself from his arms.

"Thank you Sai. You have given me hope again. I... I think that I might love you." I said in a near whisper. Sai's eyes widened and he stepped forward.

"I have never had to deal with this emotion before, but something is telling me that I love you too." Sai said. I smiled and kissed him again.

We kissed the rest of the day away. When it came time for bed, I sighed and led him to my room.

"We need to get some sleep. Good-night Sai." I said.

"You aren't going to sleep with me?" Sai asked innocently. I smiled at his tone.

"I wish I could, but I know that I don't have the control necessary. I will sleep with you soon though. I just want to wait a bit. Are you okay with that?" I asked.

"Yes." He said simply. With that, I left the room, planting a kiss on his forehead before leaving. I got a blanket and pillow from the hall cupboard and curled up on the couch. However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get to sleep. Something about Sai being in the next room, so close to me, made it to where I couldn't get a wink of sleep. I sighed and got up. I went straight to the bathroom.

When I got inside, I shut the door and turned on the light. I opened the medicine cabinet and took out my sleeping pills. I kept them handy because I often had nights when I couldn't sleep and I knew that I needed to be well rested for school. I took out two and popped them in my mouth. I gulped them down with a handful of water and then went right back on the couch. I knew that if I lingered in the bathroom, I would end up going back to my room. Then I wouldn't be able to control myself.

I felt the drug take effect shortly afterwards and welcomed the sleep gratefully. However, I couldn't stop the dreams.

_"What do you want from me Sai?" I asked huskily. I was already rock hard from him licking my neck all over._

_"I want you inside of me. Please. I need you so bad." Sai said. I grinned._

_"All right. You asked for it." I said. I shoved in in one thrust. When I stopped to give him time to adjust, he just groaned and pushed back against me. I gasped and started to pound into him._

_"So.. you're... a... maso... chist?" I asked in between thrusts. I didn't need an answer, I knew he was. I bit down on his neck, possibly a bit harder than I had intended to, but the loud moan that I received sent shivers up my spine._

_"Ngh... I need... MORE!" Sai screamed when I hit his pleasure spot. He rocked back against me and screamed. I reached my hand down and pumped him as fast as I could. I knew that he wouldn't be able to last much longer. To my surprise, he didn't cum as soon as I touched him. It took a few more pumps to send him over the edge._

_"NARUTO!" Sai screamed and his muscles locked down. Just before I was about to burst, I felt someone, shaking my shoulder. Much to my dismay, everything started to lose its focus._

_"No. I don't want it to end. Stop. Please." I sobbed out loud. However, it just got fuzzier and fuzzier until it disappeared completely._

I opened my eyes and felt a hand rocking my shoulder. I turned around and saw Sai. I felt my hard cock twitch at seeing him. I had to bite back a groan.

"You were making a lot of noise, and I thought something was wrong. Did you have a nightmare?" Sai asked.

"No. It wasn't a nightmare. Could you excuse me, I need to go and use the bathroom." I said. He nodded and I got up quickly, rushing to get to the bathroom so that he didn't see my arousal.

When I got in the bathroom, I locked the door and slid down the wall to the ground. I couldn't get the dream out of my mind, so I reluctantly pulled my 7 1/2 inch cock from my pants and started to pump it furiously. I wanted to get it done so that I could go back to sleep.

When I came, I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from making any noise. Never in my life had I ever came so strongly. It left me panting for breath. I quickly wiped away my cum and shakily got to my feet. I stayed in there long enough to get soft again before I finally made my way out of the bathroom. I was a bit surprised to see Sai on the couch. He had turned on my T.V. and he was watching True Blood.

"I didn't know that you liked this show." I said out loud, pleasantly surprised to see him jump.

"Naruto! You scared me." He said. I laughed a bit at that.

"What's so funny?" Sai asked with the most adorable pout that I had ever seen. I could tell that my laughing was getting to him, so I forced myself to stop.

"Nothing. Anyways, I didn't peg you for a vampire type of guy." I said.

"What is wrong with it? I like this show. It constantly surprises me, and it is very good." Sai said defensively.

"Nothing is wrong with the show. It is one of my favorites." I said.

"Then why don't you come over here and watch it with me?" Sai offered. I thought about it for a minute before I shrugged my shoulders.

 _'You only live life once.'_ I thought. With that in mind, I sat next to him. When the show was over, we decided that it would be pointless to try and go back to sleep. We just hung out, kissing occasionally.

I heard a knock at my door and concern passed across my face. Sai looked at me and got up to answer it. When I heard the voice, I froze where I was.

"Who are you? Do you know a Naruto Uzumaki? I was told that he lives here." Came the voice.

 _'I know that voice. SHIT!'_ I thought.


	7. Regrets and Pain

 

"Who are you? Do you know a Naruto Uzumaki? I was told that he lived here." Came the voice. When I heard it, I felt my body moving of its own accord. I went straight for the door and looked around Sai's shoulder to look at a face that I thought had been lost to me.

"Sasuke." I breathed. I couldn't understand why he was here.

I saw Sai look at my face then at Sasuke's then back to mine. I looked at him and saw that his eyes had gone emotionless again.

"I see. I will leave you two be then. Good-bye Naruto." Sai said. Before I could stop him, he had already left. I looked at his back for a minute before Sasuke grabbed my attention by speaking.

"Naruto! Wow, you haven't changed much have you? Still as beautiful as ever." Sasuke said. I reluctantly tore my gaze from Sai's back and focused my sight on Sasuke's face.

"You haven't change much either. Your hair is longer though." I said.

"Yeah. I decided that I wanted to try and grow it out a bit. Do you like it?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah. It looks good on you. Would you like to come in?" I asked. Sasuke graced me with a smile and I felt strange.

 _'It just isn't the same as Sai. I wish he were still here.'_ I thought. I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts before moving to the side so that he could come in. He walked in and sat on the couch.

"You don't have much in here do you?" He asked.

"No. I haven't been able to get much. The stuff I have here, I paid outrageous prices. No one will sell me things for the actual price." I said. Sasuke looked at me sideways, but said nothing. It concerned me a bit. The Sasuke that I used to know would have been so furious that I would have to calm him down myself if he had learned that I was having it hard. I just shrugged it off. After all, we hadn't seen each other in a really long time.

"So... what brings you here at this hour? It's nighttime." I said.

"I wanted to see you. I finally left that creep, Orochimaru. I wanted to come back and see if you would be mine again." Sasuke said.

"I don't know Sasuke. I haven't seen you for such a long time. Why don't we take it slow for a bit." I said. I wasn't entirely sure that I wanted to go back to him.

"All right." Sasuke said. I could hear a strange tone in his voice, but I couldn't place it. I forced it to the back of my mind.

"So, where are you staying?" I asked, partly to change the subject, and partly because I was curious.

"Nowhere right now. I just got back into town. I have nowhere to go right now." Sasuke said.

"You can stay here until you get back on your feet." I said.

"Thank you Naruto. I think I will." Sasuke said.

"Well, I am going to go to bed. I am tired." I said. Sasuke nodded, so I made my way to my room.

As I lay there, trying to get to sleep, I noticed two things. One, I didn't even offer Sasuke to sleep in my room like I had with Sai. Second, I found that it wasn't difficult for me to get to sleep, regardless of another person in the house. Honestly, it was almost as if Sasuke wasn't even there. That thought bothered me a bit.

 _'Am I really that into Sai? I need to talk to him tomorrow.'_ I thought to myself. With that decided, I fell asleep. However, I dreamed of Sai again. I couldn't seem to help it.

_"What are you doing here Naruto?" Sai asked. I could hear an edge to his voice that cut me deeper than any knife ever came close to. I couldn't understand why he was acting like this._

_"What do you mean what am I doing here? I came here to see you. Why are you being so hostile?" I asked in response._

_"You honestly don't know? Well then, let me enlighten you. You obviously don't love me, so what is the point of staying here? You aren't going to return the feelings that I have for you, and there is no reason for me to have to go through that kind of suffering. I would rather die." Sai said. With that, he turned and vanished._

_I stood, rooted to the spot, tears streaming down my face._

**_'What the hell does he mean when he said that I don't love him? Of course I do. If I didn't, I wouldn't have invited him to stay with me. I mean, I barely know him, yet I trust him enough to stay in my home. Maybe I was wrong when I thought he liked me as well.'_ ** _I thought to myself._

_I started to cry harder than I ever had before, even harder than when I had lost Sasuke. That told me right then and there that I loved Sai. I just wish that he could see that._

When I woke up, I had to work my eyes open. They almost seemed glued shut, and I knew why. I had apparently been crying in my sleep. A lot, if the dampness of my pillow meant anything.

 _'I have to go and talk with him. If I don't, I may go insane.'_ I thought. With that in mind, I got up out of bed and got ready.

When I walked out of my room, I saw that Sasuke was still passed out on my couch. I quickly tiptoed my way around him and left. When I left the apartment, I half expected someone to be waiting outside to beat me up. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that no one was there. When I remembered why, I felt myself going into a sort of depression.

"Why do I feel this way?" I asked myself out loud. When I felt the pricks in the corners of my eyes, I let myself cry a bit. Before it could be turned into a full blown crying session, I forced the tears back. I set out, looking for the one that held my heart so strongly.

My first thought was to look through a phone book and see if he had a number or address, but then I realized that that was a horrible idea. He was my age. He wouldn't have anything like that. Then I thought about going to Iruka's. I couldn't see anything wrong with that idea, so I set off.

When I got there, I knocked on the door and waited. It didn't take long before I heard footsteps. When the door opened, I felt my eyes bug out of their sockets.

"Yes Naruto?" Kakashi asked. That wouldn't have been all that bad except all he had on was a sheet that covered his privates. I blushed and stammered out an apology.

"So-sorry Se-sensei. I-I'll come b-back another t-time." I stuttered out. I was about to walk away when Iruka's voice stopped me.

"Naruto?" Was all he said. That was enough. I broke down into tears. I was still turned around, but that didn't matter. As soon as a sob racked my body, I couldn't hold back anymore. I let it all out. I was gasping for air, and doing my best not to sob too loud.

"Naruto?" Iruka said. I wanted to run away so that he didn't have to see me like this, but I couldn't move. I couldn't even turn around so that I could look at Iruka.

When I didn't offer a response, Iruka came out and stood in front of me.

"What's the matter Naruto?" Iruka asked. I barely managed a response without stuttering or anything.

"He left me Iruka." I said. I didn't need to say more. Iruka bent down and picked me up. He brought me inside of his home and set me down on his couch. I looked up at him and smiled weakly. I looked at Kakashi and spoke through my tears.

"I am sorry for intruding. I know that I had to have interrupted something. For that, I am sorry." I said.

"Nonsense. You need someone to talk to. Just give me a minute so that I can dress properly." Kakashi said before walking away.

"I hope that he won't be mad at me." I muttered to myself.

"Of course he won't. He knows that it would take a lot for you to break down like that." Iruka said. I started when he spoke.

"You weren't supposed to hear that." I said before I looked down dejectedly. I could feel myself slipping deeper into my depression. I know that Iruka could sense it, but I couldn't get up the energy to fight it. There was just no way for me to stop it.

"Tell me what happened Naruto." Iruka said.

"I invited Sai over to my house for the weekend because he didn't want to go back to his house. Things were going good until we heard a knock at the door. I looked at Sai and he must have seen the fear in my eyes because he said that he would get up and answer it. I let him and, when I heard the voice of the person at the door, I got there as quick as I could. It was Sasuke. I never thought that I would see him again. Sai looked at Sasuke, then at me, then at Sasuke again. After that, he said that he would go and give us time to be alone. I was sad about it, but what really got to me was the dream that I had. In it, Sai left me because he thought that I didn't love him. I tried to tell him that I did, but he said that it was obvious that I didn't. I need to talk to him, to tell him that I do and that I want him in my life." I said.

"I might be able to help you with that. Because I am his teacher, I can find out where he lives. After that, I will take you to see him." Iruka said. I looked up at him in surprise.

"I can't let you do that Iruka-sensei. You could lose your job for that." I said. He just simply smiled at me.

"It doesn't matter. I can't stand to see you like this. I feel like you are like my son. I hate to see you in so much pain." Iruka said. I stared at him in wonder until Kakashi came back in.

"I will go and leave you guys be. I know that this must be hard, and I don't want to get in the way." He said.

"No. Please stay Kakashi-sensei." I said, which probably surprised me as much as it surprised him.

"All right then. If you insist. If you don't mind me asking, why do you want me to stay? Not that I am ungrateful for it, it just surprised me." Kakashi said.

"I want you here because I trust you. You have been so kind to me, and I just need another shoulder to cry on. You make me feel safer." I said. Kakashi looked at me with mild amusement.

"Well. I had no idea that I meant that much to you. If you want me to stay, then I am here for you." He said. With that settled, Iruka called up the school and got the information. When asked why he needed it, he simply said that he wanted to see if everything was all right with him. Apparently, Iruka had friends in high places because I knew that no other teacher would have been able to get away with that.

"All right. Let's go." Iruka said. I nodded my head and saw that Kakashi did the same.

Half an hour later, we were on the worst side of town, looking at a building that was in desperate need of repair. When we knocked on the door, we got no answer. We tried to open the door, but found it locked. We knew that where there was an apartment, then there would be a manager. We decided to go and look for the manager. When we found him, we asked for the key to the building.

"Why do you want it?" He asked. He had white hair, and this crazed look in his eye. However, he looked harmless enough.

"Because we are concerned for him. This is his English teacher and I am his friend. Please Mr...?" I said.

"Hidan. That is my name. All right. As long as you don't get into any trouble, I guess it would be all right to let you in for a bit. Just try and keep it down. The people that live here, they don't much like disturbances." Hidan said. He handed me the key and I immediately took off, Kakashi and Iruka hot on my heels.

When we opened the door, it was completely dark inside. We felt along the walls for a light switch. When my hand grazed one, I turned it on quickly. However, Sai didn't appear to be there. We looked in all of the rooms quickly and saw that they were all empty. We took the time to be thorough in our searching, hoping for just a small clue as to where he would have gone.

Just as I was about to give up hope, Kakashi called from the bedroom. When I got in there, he was on his hands and knees and he was looking under the bed.

"What is it? What is it Kakashi-sensei?" I asked hopefully.

"This looks promising." Kakashi said before he pulled out Sai's black notebook. On the front of it was a slip of paper. I opened it and immediately knew that it was Sai's handwriting, even though I had never seen his writing before.

**_'Naruto,  
If you are reading this, then you have come looking for me, though I can't imagine why you would do something like that. I know that you love the Uchiha, so I have decided that it would be best if I didn't see you. I have felt pain before, but never of this magnitude. I can't bear it. I... I love you Naruto. I'm sorry.  
Sai._ **

I felt the pricks in my eyes again and couldn't stop the tears. Eventually, I cried myself out and just stood there.

"I'm worried about him Kakashi. I have never seen that dull glaze in his eyes before. He is always bouncing back, no matter what." Iruka said. I know that I wasn't supposed to hear, and I couldn't bring myself to care about what they were saying.

"What are you thinking Iruka?" Kakashi asked. At that point, I didn't want to hear about anything having to do with Sai.

"You know that I can hear you guys right?" I said. I heard my voice, but I had to remember that I had spoken. I sounded so dead that I was surprised I was still breathing.

"Sorry Naruto. I didn't mean to talk about you behind your back." Iruka said. I didn't give a response.

"I want to go home now." I said in my emotionless voice.

"All right." Iruka said. I could hear the concern in his voice, and it hurt because it reminded me of the concern that was in Sai's voice.

When I got home, I stood in front of my door for awhile before moving inside. I was met with a furious looking Sasuke.

"Where were you? I was worried sick. I thought that someone had hurt you." Sasuke said.

"I'm sorry." I said. My voice must have concerned him because his face transformed. He looked worried about me.

"What's the matter?" Sasuke asked. I knew that the truth would hurt him, but I didn't care.

"Sai left me." I said. I saw anger spark in Sasuke's eyes again.

"What? That's all? I'll remind you of the love we once had." Sasuke said before his lips hit mine. I didn't even feel the kiss. When Sasuke broke the kiss off, he looked at me in disbelief.

"You will remember that you love me." He said before he brought his hand down on my head with a resounding crack. I felt myself slowly losing consciousness. I welcomed it gratefully.

 _'Maybe he hit me hard enough that I will die. What use is there in living anymore? Sai left, everyone hates me, and Iruka has Kakashi. I am not needed. I have no purpose. I don't even want to be Hokage anymore without Sai. Funny, how one small thing can change your whole life.'_ I thought before I lost consciousness.

 


	8. Sasuke Gets What's Coming for Him

 

When I woke up, I looked around. All I saw was white and I realized that I must have been in a hospital. The last thing I remembered was Sasuke knocking me out.

I tried to get up so that I could ask why I was there when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Iruka.

"Iruka. How did I get here?" I asked. I saw the pain in his eyes.

"Sai brought you here." He said. He must have seen how my eyes lightened up because he shook his head.

"He isn't here Naruto. He left just after he brought you here. He came to my house and told me what happened. I immediately came here. He told me to give you a message. You can find him here. He only asks that you fully recover before you attempt to see him." Iruka said, giving me a scrap of paper.

"Like hell I'm going to sit here and recover when I want to see him so badly that it hurts." I said. Iruka smiled at me, but held me down for a minute. "What? Why won't you let me up?" I asked.

"There is something I need to tell you. Sasuke is in the hospital. Sai didn't go easy on him. Also, after Sasuke makes a full recovery, he will be going to jail. He hit you without cause, and that will not be tolerated. Not to mention, there is evidence that he killed his uncle." Iruka said. That made me pause for a minute.

"He did what? How could he do that? The Sasuke that I know would never do something like that. He was too kind." I said. But then I remembered that he was the one who knocked me out without a second thought. That definitely wasn't the Sasuke that I knew and had once loved.

"They found his DNA on the corpse. It was clear that he killed him. I'm sorry. I know that this must be hard to hear." Iruka said. Honestly, I felt a bit guilty because I was slightly happy that I wouldn't have to see him again. I knew that I should have been sorry that he was in jail, but I couldn't find it in me to feel bad about it.

"Should I feel guilty that I don't feel bad that he is going to jail?" I asked out loud, completely forgetting that Iruka was in the room with me. It made me jump when he spoke.

"Of course not. He hurt you badly. He could have killed you. I know that I am glad that he is going to jail. That way, he won't be able to hurt anyone again. I don't want anyone to have to go through that." Iruka said. I found myself agreeing with him.

"I know what you mean." I said. After that, it was silent for a few minutes before I spoke again.

"Do you think I can get out of here now?" I asked. I looked at him hopefully and he sighed. He looked at me with a concerned look in his eye before he got up.

"I'll get the doctor. It is his choice." Iruka said. I waited patiently as he left the room and I waited as he got the doctor. When they came in, I sat and waited for the doctor to finish his examinations. When he was done, he took Iruka to the side and spoke to him in a voice so low that even I couldn't hear, and I had nearly inhuman hearing. Then the doctor left and Iruka looked at me. I could tell that the news wasn't going to be good.

"You can't leave. The doctor says that Sasuke hit you so hard that it is a miracle that you are still alive. You need to stay here for awhile longer. Is there anything I can get for you?" Iruka asked. I looked at him, and he must have seen the pain in my eyes.

"There is only one thing that will help me feel better." I said. Iruka nodded and left. With that, I looked at the wall with dead eyes. I couldn't believe that my life had gotten so bad. It was like I was the world's punching bag. I didn't know how much more I could take of it. I knew that I would lose it if I lost Sai. I would have been okay if Sasuke was still the person that I remembered, but that wasn't possible. I knew that I would go insane if I lost Sai. I would probably kill myself. Somehow.

It wasn't long before Iruka came back. While he was gone, I realized that I hadn't given him the paper with the address on it. It surprised me when he came in with Sai in tow. I took one look at him and broke down. I cried and saw concern flash on his face before he composed his features. That made me cry even harder.

"I am going to leave you two alone." Iruka said before he left. I looked at Sai and my vision blurred so much that I couldn't see anything. I couldn't see him get closer to me. When I felt lips against my own, I gasped and tried to move my arms. Unfortunately, they were pinned down by tubes.

"Don't move Naruto. You need to rest." When I heard his voice, I struggled harder. I probably would have struggled more had he not put his hand on my chest. After that, I just laid there and cried.

"Why? Why did you leave me?" I asked. I could see a bit better, so I saw the surprise on his face.

"I thought that you loved Uchiha. I wanted to let you guys have some peace. I didn't know that he would do that. I was going to your house to tell you good-bye and to see you one last time when I saw you unconscious on the ground with Sasuke hovering over you. I went a bit overboard and knocked him out. I almost killed him, but I couldn't do that to you. I thought, even then, that you loved him. I am sorry. I never gave you a chance to talk. I realized that and I had Iruka give you a message, but it looks like things are worse than even I feared." Sai said.

"I love you Sai." I said. I needed him to hear me say it.

"I love you too Naruto. I am so sorry. This is all my fault." Sai said. He looked wretched. I couldn't bear to see him like that.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. I know that you had no idea that this would happen. As long as you don't leave me again, I will be okay." I said.

"Of course. I did it once, but I don't know if I have it in me to do it again." Sai said. I looked into his eyes and tried to reach for his face again. However, I was stopped yet again. He looked at me and smiled slightly. He leaned down and pecked my lips. I didn't want just a peck. I wanted to know that he was actually there. When he broke off, my head stayed where it was and my eyes stayed closed. I heard a whining sound and was a bit surprised when I realized that it had come from me. I opened my eyes and looked at Sai pleadingly.

"I didn't want you to stop." I said. I could hear my voice, but it didn't sound like me. I wasn't used to my voice sounding so hollow. It must have hurt Sai because I saw the pain in his eyes.

"I did this to you. I'm sorry." Sai said. I smiled tenderly to him.

"I forgive you. Now, on to more pressing matters, get your ass back over here so I can kiss you." I said. Sai looked at me kind of startled and laughed. He shook his head and kissed me again. This time, he kept our lips locked. I gasped when I felt his tongue on my lower lip. I opened my mouth and welcomed the entrance of his tongue.

When we broke off again, we looked into each other's eyes with wonder. We were both gasping for air. When he smiled, I felt my cock twitch. It was then that I realized that I only had on the thin hospital gown. I blushed slightly and tried to cover up the obvious bulge in the fabric. However, Sai saw the movement and took my wrists in his hands before they reached the bulge.

"Don't be shy Naruto. You have nothing to hide from me. I am happy that I am the one that can do this to you." Sai said. I blushed at that. I needed to get used to his blunt way of speaking.

"All right. I'm sorry for trying to hide it." I said. Sai smiled at me and got up. I whined again and he looked back at me.

"Don't worry. I will be right back." Sai said. As soon as he left the room, I felt empty inside. If anything, it proved how much I needed Sai in my life. When he came back, I felt whole again. It surprised me and scared me a little that such a drastic change could happen in such a short time. Sai brought with him a chair and I smiled when I realized what it was for.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to go again, so I brought a chair so that I could sit next to you." Sai said. I smiled again and he smiled with me.

"Thank you Sai. You have done so much for me." I said.

"What have I done for you? I hurt you so much. Why are you thanking me for that?" Sai asked. He looked so sad that it hurt me.

"Don't forget that I hurt you as well. I am thanking you because I was starting to lose it. I have thought about suicide so many times that it isn't even funny. I would be dead right now if it weren't for the gene that my father injected into me. I have scars." I said while showing him my wrists. He gasped slightly and took them into his hands.

"Why did you do this Naruto?" Sai asked.

"I did that when I was really young. I wanted to die. Everyone hated me and I didn't know why. I only found out that I had the gene in me because I was told by a horrible person. I knew that everyone hated me and I knew that everyone would be happier if I had died. When I found Iruka, everything changed. I felt needed again. Recently, I had started to lose that feeling and I was thinking about trying again. Then you came along. You made my life worth living. At first, I just wanted to stay alive to get to know you, but then I wanted to be with you, and everything changed. I started to get depressed because I was thinking that you would never want me like that. When you kissed me that first time, I was the happiest person in the world. You have no idea how much that meant to me." I said. A few tears had escaped while I was talking, but I held back the rest. I didn't need to cry anymore.

"I'm sorry Naruto. I truly am. I am glad that you failed every time. Otherwise, I would not have met the person that reminded me how important life could be. You helped me get my emotions back, and for that, I am eternally in your debt." Sai said. I looked at him and laughed.

"Why are you laughing? Was it funny?" Sai asked. I could tell that I was hurting his feelings, but I felt like laughing.

"No. It wasn't. It's just that the words should be reversed. I should be thanking you. Without you, I would be dead right now. Thank you." I said, still chuckling slightly. Sai laughed as well and I started a bit at the sound. I would have to get used to his laugh.

"I love you Naruto. I really do." Sai said.

"I love you too. More than you will ever know." I replied.

 _'As long as he is here, I will be fine.'_ I thought to myself.


	9. Playing With Fire

It took a week for me to be able to leave the hospital, and even then, they had to wheel me out in a wheelchair. I hated it, but they said that they wouldn't let me leave if I didn't do it. I reluctantly agreed, but only because Sai convinced me to.

"Think Naruto. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can be alone." Sai said in my ear, low enough so that the nurse that was in the room wouldn't be able to hear. I looked at him and sighed.

When we left the hospital, Sai picked me up bridal style and started to walk. I squeaked slightly when I felt my body being lifted. I looked at Sai and he smiled back at me.

"Why did you do that?" I asked, cursing my body for starting to react to the hold he had on me. I knew that I wouldn't be able to resist if he carried me all of the way to my house. My body just seemed to become so alive when I was near him.

"The hospital would never have let you leave if they knew that I would be letting you walk to your house as soon as you were released, so I decided that I had to carry you. Don't worry. I won't drop you." Sai said with a smile.

"That's not what I'm worried about." I mumbled. I didn't think that I had said it loud enough for Sai to hear, but I was apparently wrong.

"What are you worried about then?" Sai asked. When he saw me hesitate, he smiled at me slightly, though I could see the sadness in his eyes. "You know that you can tell me anything right?" He said.

"Of course I know that. It's just... I don't know how long I can go without you." I said. Sai looked at me strangely for a minute before he shifted me slightly. I was about to ask what he was doing when I felt a hand on my crotch. I jumped and glared at Sai while I tried to control my panting.

"What was that for?" I asked accusingly. Sai just looked at me and smirked. I swallowed a groan when the look sent blood rushing to my groin. It sent shivers down my spine and I couldn't help the lust that glazed my eyes.

"You are playing with fire, you do know that right?" I asked. I heard my voice, but had a hard time believing it was me who had spoken. I sounded so turned on and I couldn't do anything about it.

Sai just looked at me and smiled sexily. I couldn't hold in the groan and was a bit surprised when Sai picked me back up and carried me the rest of the way home. The whole time, I had to fight touching him. I needed him so bad. The one thing that I did notice through my lust filled mind was that Sai had sped up considerably. That either meant he wanted to get away from me, or that he was as affected as I was. I would have placed my bet on the second choice.

When we got to the door, Sai set me down and I unlocked the door. I let Sai go in first and closed and locked the door. When I turned around, I saw that Sai was looking at me with a hunger in his eyes that had my body going from hot to cold in a matter of seconds.

"I need you Naruto." Sai said. I looked at him and something inside of me snapped. I lunged at him and attacked his lips with a fury that surprised me. I felt a bit bad because I had hit him hard enough that I probably hurt him, but those thoughts blew out the window when I heard a groan coming from the mouth I was currently glued to. When we broke off for air, Sai went straight to my neck. He started to nip and lick and suck his way all over it. Every place he went felt like it burst into flames as soon as his lips made contact with the skin. I was half hard when we walked in the door, but I was now rock hard.

"What do you want from me Sai?" I asked. Sai stopped his licking and smirked at me.

"I want you inside of me. Please. I need you so bad." Sai said.

I smirked and started to pull off his clothes. He pulled mine off and we were both laying there nude in no time. I placed three fingers to his lips and watched as he eagerly sucked them in. I moaned at the sensations that one muscle could inflict on my body. My cock twitched and started to release pre-cum. When I felt like my fingers were lubed enough, I pulled them out and quickly slipped one into his entrance. He groaned, and at first I thought he was in pain so I stilled my hand. He opened his eyes, which had been squeezed shut, and looked at me.

"Why did you stop?" He asked. I could hear the pure lust in his voice, and it almost caused me to lose it. I didn't want to hurt him, but he was making it difficult. I pumped my finger in and out of him for a few seconds before I placed another at his entrance. I put it in slowly. He moaned and tried to thrust his hips back on my finger. I smirked and went even slower. He groaned in frustration and started to squirm.

"Please Naruto. Go faster." He said. I heard the desperation in his voice, but I was loving making him feel like this, so I chose to ignore it. Instead, I focused on what his inner muscles were doing to my fingers. That turned out to be a bad idea, because it made me think how it would feel to be buried deep in that heat. I moaned and started to pick up the pace again. Sai moaned his appreciation and started to thrust back onto my fingers. I quickly grew tired of waiting and shoved in the third finger. I didn't even give him a chance to get used to it before I started to thrust them in and out. I stretched my fingers and pulled out. Sai whimpered at the loss, but gasped when he felt the head of my erection at his entrance.

"Just remember. You asked for it." I said with a smirk before I shoved in completely. When I tried to give Sai time to adjust, he just groaned and thrusted back against me. I moaned at the movement and couldn't help the shallow thrust that accompanied it. When I heard Sai moan, I couldn't hold back any longer.

"So... you're... a... maso... chist?" I asked, even though I was pretty sure that I knew the answer. I bent to his neck and bit down on it, probably harder than I should have, but Sai just jerked in my grasp and let out a half scream.

"God Naruto. I'm so close." Sai said. I changed the angle and was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath and the muscles surrounding my cock squeezing down on me.

I let out a strangled moan when the muscles squeezed me. I snaked my hand down to his erection and gave it a light squeeze. Sai thrust his hips up into my hand and I thought he was going to blow. However, he surprised me by holding on for a bit longer. A few more thrusts and a few more pumps had him exploding all over my chest, and the feel of his essence on me sent me over the edge. We both let out loud screams and collapsed, panting.

"That was amazing Naru." Sai said. I smiled at the name he had given me. It let me know that he cared about me.

"I know. It was for me too. Thank you Sai. I love you so much." I said before closing my eyes. Just before I fell asleep, I heard him speak.

"I love you too Naru. I never thought it would be possible, but I love you more than anything in the world." Sai said. I fell asleep with a smile on my face, arms wrapped around the one person that meant the most to me in the world.

* * *

When I woke up, I noticed that the spot next to me was empty save for a folded slip of paper. I opened it and read it.

_Naru,  
I'm sorry that I won't be there when you wake up, but I need to go to my home so that I can change. I will see you in school tomorrow.  
Forever yours,   
Sai_

I smiled at the note and folded it up before putting it on my nightstand, right next to Sai's sketchbook. I didn't want to lose it. Everything that Sai had given to me was precious, and I made sure that I would never lose them.

I frowned when I realized that I had nothing to do that day. There really wasn't anything that I wanted to do other than spend time with Sai, but I knew that I would see him at school. I didn't want to push my luck.

When I thought of Iruka, I realized that I should probably tell him about what Sai and I had done. I sighed, but knew that I wouldn't be able to look Iruka in the eyes until I told him.

With that though in mind, I made my way around the streets of Konoha. One thought entered my mind and I stopped in my tracks, before resuming my pace with a huge smile on my face.

 _'No one has even tried to beat me up since Sai beat up those bullies. I have to be sure to thank him for that when I get the chance.'_ I thought.

When I arrived at Iruka's house, I looked at the driveway to see if Kakashi's car was there. I really didn't want to intrude on them again. The first time had been embarrassing enough. Seeing no sign of the car, I walked up and knocked on the door. It took a few minutes, but I eventually heard footsteps and then the door swung open.

"Hello Naruto. What are you doing here? I thought you were still in the hospital." Iruka said.

"Nah, I got out yesterday. I'm as fit as a fiddle. Is this a bad time though? I don't want to intrude." I said.

"Of course not! Come in, come in." Iruka said, stepping to the side to let me pass. I immediately went to the living room and sat on the couch. Iruka followed me and sat in the chair that was opposite of the couch. Iruka looked at me and grinned from ear to ear.

"How long ago did you and Sai do it?" Iruka asked. I blushed at what he was implying, but decided to play it safe and act dumb.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I'm not a fool. I can see the signs. You no longer looked stressed, you seem happier than I have ever seen you, and you are blushing like a mad man. When did you and Sai do it?" Iruka asked again. I sighed and answered the question.

"Last night, when I got released." I said. Iruka leaned forward a bit, but when I didn't say anything more, he grew a little impatient.

"And...?" He said. I laughed at that.

"Honestly. You are as bad as Jiraiya. I got let out, but they wouldn't let me walk on my own. Since neither Sai nor I own a car, he decided to carry me. Being that close to him did things to me and I couldn't help getting aroused. Sai thought that I was worried that he would drop me, but when I muttered that I wasn't afraid of that, he asked me what I was really afraid of. I told him that I didn't know how long I could go without him, and he shifted me and touched me down there. I gasped and jumped out of his arms. He just looked at me and things progressed from there. We made it to my house and things turned hot fast." I said. I could tell that Iruka wanted to know more, but I didn't want to say anything else. Iruka, however, wouldn't give up.

"Which one was top?" Iruka asked. I smirked slightly.

"I am." I said proudly.

"Interesting. Thought as much. Is Sai a screamer? Are you?" Iruka asked. I blushed a bit at that, but didn't let it show.

"I am not answering that. If you want to know, you can ask Sai. I am sure that he wouldn't have a problem telling you. He is always so blunt." I said/sighed. I had completely zoned out. It took Iruka coughing to get me back to reality.

"Wow. You must really like this guy. Good for you. I knew that you would find someone that was meant for you." Iruka said. I grinned.

"I really do like him. You aren't mad that we ignored your advice, are you?" I asked, genuinely concerned. I didn't want Iruka to be mad at me, but I knew that I wouldn't change anything for the world.

"That depends. Would you change what had happened if you knew that I would get mad?" Iruka asked me seriously. I could tell that this was a serious question.

"No. I wouldn't." I said simply. Iruka looked deep into my eyes and nodded.

"Then no. I am not mad at you." Iruka said. He got up and went over to me.

"Thank you Iruka. That means a lot to me." I said before I got up and hugged him. I stayed over there for a bit before I decided that it was time for me to go home. The next day was a school day and I needed to be sure that I had everything ready.

 _'I can't believe he loves me too.'_ I thought to myself on the walk home.

 


	10. Worry Becomes Second Nature

When I got to my house, I smiled. I couldn't help but remember what had happened the previous day. That was the day that Sai told, and showed, me how he felt. We made love, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I would remember it for my entire life.

I didn't know what to do, so I just decided to go for a walk. I knew that no one would bother me. They were too scared of Sai. I grinned when I thought about how much things had changed. Sure, there were some rough patches, but I was happy with the way things had turned out.

I grabbed my house keys and walked out of the door. I made sure to lock my door. Even though no one would hurt me, it wouldn't do to be stupid. I still didn't trust them not to break into my house.

I started to wonder around, and I realized that I hadn't seen Tsunade in awhile. I decided that it would be good to pay her a visit, if only to tell her that I was sorry for the way that I had treated her the last time that I was there.

When I got to the gate, I smiled and walked through. When I knocked on the door, I was surprised when Kakashi walked out. He took one look at me and sighed.

"Why does this have to be so difficult?" He asked himself. He seemed to have forgotten that I was there so he jumped a bit when he looked at me again.

"Are you okay Kakashi-sensei? You seem really out of it." I said. He looked at me and I could tell that there was something that he didn't want to say.

"Come with me. We need to talk." Kakashi said before he started to walk away. I hesitated for a moment because I wasn't sure that I liked the look in his eye, but I knew that if he had told me to follow him, then it must be something important. Kakashi wasn't the type of person to call you out for no reason.

With that in mind, I followed him. He took me to the park. It was such a weird place for him to go that it almost made me laugh. I almost let it out until I realized the true location we were headed. There was a polished rock in the corner of the park that had a bunch of names carved on them. Kakashi once told me that they were the names of a lot of heroes of Konoha that had died in battle. I had a deep sense of respect for that stone, but I knew that Kakashi had lost someone dear to him and that their name was on that stone. It scared me a bit that this would be the place that he decided to take me. That meant that the news he had to give me wouldn't be good.

"What is it Kakashi-sensei? You are starting to scare me. What is the matter?" I asked. I could hear the panic in my voice, and I was sure that Kakashi could hear it to.

"We have a slight problem Naruto. We have just learned that Sasuke was taken to jail three days ago. However, he never arrived at the jail. He has escaped. We have reason to believe that he will come after you and Sai." Kakashi said. I looked at him blankly for a minute before I took off running. I could hear him shouting at me, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. All I knew was that I had to see if Sai was all right.

* * *

It took me around 45 minutes to get to Sai's apartment. I was going to go and see if I could get the key from the manager, but I was sickened to see that Sai's door was already opened. From the looks of it, it had been forced opened. I forced back my dread and walked inside. What I saw made me gasp. All of Sai's furniture was strewn about and there was a dark liquid on the floor. There wasn't much, but I could smell the coppery scent of blood. It almost made me want to hurl.

I forced back the bile in my throat and searched deeper into the house. There was only one room that looked like it had been undisturbed. That was Sai's room. It made me wonder why that room had been left clean. I started to look around and it didn't take long for me to come across a note. I could tell that it wasn't Sai's handwriting, because I had it memorized. I thought that the handwriting looked familiar, but it took me a moment to get it.

_Naruto,  
I have Sai. If you want him back, come to the Uchiha Compound at midnight on Wednesday. Bring no one else.  
S.U._

After I read the message, I put the pieces together and realized that Sasuke must have taken Sai to get to me. I had to blink the tears out of my eyes. He had said to bring no one, but he never said that I couldn't tell anyone. With that realization, I ran straight to the Hokage mansion. I pounded furiously on the door and was a bit surprised when Tsunade opened the door instead of Shizune.

"What the hell brat? Why the hell are you here, trying to pound my door down?" Tsunade asked. I was momentarily frightened. Tsunade was kinda scary when she was in a bad mood. Then I remembered why I had come.

"Sai has been taken." I said. Tsunade's face showed nothing but shock and she ushered me in.

"What do you mean Sai has been taken?" She asked.

"He has been kidnapped by Sasuke Uchiha. I have a note right here." I said. I handed the note to Tsunade and she read it over.

"How do you know that this is a note left by Sasuke?" She asked.

"Because I dated him in the sixth grade. I know his handwriting better than anyone." I said.

"All right. If you two dated, then why would he be threatening you? That makes no sense. And how does Sai fit into all of this?" She asked.

For the next thirty minutes, I told Tsunade everything about what had happened in the last few days. At first, she looked shocked, and I could understand that, but what I couldn't understand was the look of anger in her eyes.

"What's the matter? Did I do something wrong?" I asked.

"No. I am just pissed as hell that Sasuke would do something like that just because you didn't want to be with him. That is horrible. I say that you should go to the place, but make sure that you do go alone. It wouldn't do to lose Sai. However, we can't send you in there without any form of a plan. That would be suicide." Tsunade said.

"I agree. So... what's the plan?" I asked. I shivered when Tsunade got an evil look in her eye.

* * *

The three days that I had to endure at school before I could go to the meeting place almost killed me. I swear that I was going to die of nerves. I just wanted it to be time. I knew that I had a good plan, but there was still so much that could go wrong.

As I was waiting for the final bell to ring, I started to absently scratch the back of my hand. When I realized that I was doing that, I stopped.

When Iruka walked into the classroom, we shared a silent communication. I knew that he was worried about me and the he wanted me to drop the whole subject. He knew that I wouldn't stop until I got Sai back. He sighed and focused his attention on the class. I kept waiting for the chair next to me to scrape across the floor and for Sai to sit in it. I wanted it so bad that I completely missed the entire lesson. I jumped about five feet in the air when the bell rang, causing a few snickers to develop around me.

"Naruto. I need to see you." Iruka said. I hung around reluctantly. I didn't want Iruka to try and talk me out of going to get Sai, but I had to stay.

"Yes Iruka?" I asked as politely as I could. At the tone of my voice, Iruka sighed.

"I know that you don't want me to try and talk you out of going and getting Sai, but I don't want you to get hurt. I know that you will go regardless of what I say, so I just want you to be careful." Iruka said. I smiled at him.

"Don't worry so much Iruka. I have a plan. Nothing will happen to me." I said as confidently as I could. I thought he would have seen right through me, but he just smiled and ushered me out of the room.

When I left the school. I immediately went to the Hokage's mansion. When I knocked on the door, it was opened immediately, and I was ushered in as quickly as possible. I looked at Shizune, and she smiled at me. I smiled slightly back, and she led me to Tsunade's office.

"Naruto. We need to see that everything works." Tsunade said. I nodded my head and held out the hand that I had been scratching earlier.

"Well, this has healed nicely. To think, you got cut just this morning. You heal so fast that it looks as if nothing happened. Give me a minute and I will activate it." Tsunade said and got out a weird looking remote. She pushed a button on it, and I felt a small shock from my hand. After a minute, Tsunade spoke again.

"It seems as if everything is good to go." She said. I smiled.

"Thank you Tsunade. I know that this is dangerous. Thank you for taking this risk for someone you barely know." I said.

"I know him better than you think." She mumbled.

"What do you mean?" I asked, curiosity heavy on my voice.

"Nothing Naruto. You shouldn't have heard that." She said.

"If it's about Sai, I want to know." I said stubbornly.

"You are so thick headed. All right. If... when you both make it back from this, I will tell you what I know. Now go. You need to prepare yourself." She said. I tried to get more information out of her, but she was adamant.

I sighed when I got out of the mansion.

 _'This is going to be such a long night. I hope that I can get him back without to much trouble.'_ I thought to myself.

When I got home, I still had another three hours before I should head out. I had no idea what to do, so I just decided to look at the pictures that Sai had drawn. I couldn't get enough of them. They were just so beautiful. They were a part of him, and I desperately needed a part of him. When I got near the end, I noticed that there was a slightly newer sketch. I tried to remember the last time that I had looked at it and I realized that it had been when he had shown it to me. It seemed like such a long time ago.

I opened the book to the newest one and gasped. I could feel the tears gather in my eyes, but for once, they were tears of happiness. There was a picture of me on my bed. It looked like Sai had done it when we made love that first time. I smiled at the memory. I spent the next hour just memorizing all of the pictures in the book. When I had my fill, I decided that it would be a good idea to take a bath. Then I remembered the device in my hand. I didn't know if it would short out if I got water on it. I decided that it wasn't worth it.

"Well, I still have another hour and a half before I have to go. What to do, what to do..." I said out loud. I was trying my hardest not to lose my mind, but it was becoming increasingly difficult.

I decided that I would try my hand at writing again. I used to love it so much, but I stopped because I lost all of my motivation. I got out a piece of paper and a pen. When I sat down, I was prepared to wait for a little while before I could get anything out, so it surprised me when my hand developed a mind of its own and started to dance across the page.

Before I knew it, I had used the entire piece of paper. My story was basically about a guy that fell in love in high-school and he stayed with the person, even when it got difficult. It reminded me a bit of Sai, so I couldn't bring myself to throw it out. When I took a look at the clock, I realized that I still had another 45 minutes.

"Ah, fuck it. He never said that I couldn't be there early." I said out loud. With that, I got up and grabbed my jacket. I locked the door and set off towards the Uchiha compound.

With every step I took towards the compound, I felt the dread in my stomach get a bit heavier. I didn't know what I was going to find. Sai could be dead, and there wouldn't be anything I could do about it. When I got to the gate, I was practically shivering with all of my pent up nerves. I forced myself to stop and take a deep breath. I knew that I would have to go in there. When there is even the smallest chance of getting him back, I would do anything.

I opened the gate and walked in. I wondered around to the middle of the area and stopped. I decided to wait there. I didn't have to wait long before there was a voice from behind me.

"Hello Naruto. I see that you came. Alone too, it would seem. Good. Now we can get down to business." Sasuke said.

 _'Please let Sai be okay.'_ I thought before I turned towards the voice.


	11. The Plan

 

I turned around and saw Sasuke standing around 100 yards away from me. There was a dark lump next to him and I almost puked when I realized it was Sai.

"Let him go Sasuke! I came here, so let him go." I said.

"As you wish." Sasuke said. He forced Sai to his feet and then kicked him in the back. Sai went sprawling on the pavement. He let out a small whimper and I nearly lost it then. It almost broke my heart.

"Now then, we can finally get down to business." Sasuke said. I saw Sai struggling to get up. I walked over to him. I realized that he had been gagged and I undid the gag so that he could speak.

"Don't Naruto. He won't let me go unless you go with him. Just go." Sai said. Before he could say anything else, I kissed him hard on the lips.

"Don't worry Sai. Everything will be fine. I knew that from the beginning. You have to let me go though. I don't want you near him." I said. When I started to walk away, he tried to grab my arm. I danced away from him and looked back at him. The look that he gave me almost killed me. I even took a step towards him before I heard Sasuke's voice.

"Now then Naruto. There is a price for me giving him to you. I require you in return." Sasuke said. I stopped walking towards Sai and turned back around. When my gaze locked on Sasuke's, I felt myself get extremely angry. I knew that Sasuke had the upper hand, but I couldn't help but hate him at that moment. A year ago, if someone would have said that I would hate Sasuke with my entire being, I would have seriously hurt them. Now, I couldn't believe that I had been so naive. I knew that being loved by someone like Sasuke was too good to be true. I had seen flashes of immeasurable rage in him before, but I chose to ignore it. That was the difference between Sai and Sasuke. Sai was every bit as good as Sasuke, but he was so much kinder.

"Deal. I will go with you on the condition that you will stay away from Sai for as long as we live." I said. Sasuke smirked and nodded his head.

"All right. I can do that." Sasuke said. That made me relax slightly. I knew that Sasuke wouldn't go back on his word because he didn't believe in doing that. I knew that, even if I did get away from him, he wouldn't go after Sai again.

With that established, I walked towards him and forced myself not to look back, even when I heard Sai say my name. I couldn't. I knew that I would lose it and try to run away with him. In order for my plan to work, I had to have Sasuke believe that he had won. I tried my hardest to look defeated and broken, and I knew that I did a good job of it.

"Come here Naru. Everything will be okay." Sasuke crooned. It almost sounded like the Sasuke that I used to know. Almost. I could still hear the undercurrent of rage that was thinly veiled in his voice. I knew that it would not be okay.

"Naruto!" Sai yelled. I flinched and forced myself to walk into Sasuke's open arms. He gathered me up and started to run. Sasuke was running so fast that I couldn't even see where we were going. Of course, the fact that it was nighttime didn't help either.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked.

"I am taking you to the place I hid once I killed my uncle." Sasuke said. I shivered when I heard that he had indeed killed his uncle. It just seemed so unbelievable, yet I found myself unsurprised. I had forced myself not to see the darker side of Sasuke. I knew that that was what had gotten up into this mess. I knew that it was my fault, but I would be damned if I didn't try to fix it.

When we got to the place that Sasuke had mentioned, it didn't surprise me that no one had found him here. It was practically in the middle of nowhere and in a cave. The cave was homey enough, but it was almost like I could feel the evil that was Sasuke coming out of the walls. It made me want to bolt and run for my life. I knew that I couldn't do that though.

"Come here Naruto." Sasuke said. I reluctantly went over to him and stood before him. I saw rage twist his features for a second before he composed his features again.

"How the hell can you still love him? He let you go with me!" Sasuke exclaimed. I looked at him, and couldn't help the laugh that bubbled in the back of my throat. When he heard it, Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and I knew that I was in trouble. I didn't rightly care at that moment though. Sai was away from him, and that was all that mattered to me.

"Why the hell are you laughing? Do you think this is funny?" Sasuke screeched. I forced myself to stop laughing and answered his question.

"I think it is funny that you still think you have a chance to be with me. I have completely given myself to Sai. There is no way I will ever love you again." I said. I could hear the conviction in my voice, but apparently Sasuke didn't.

"What do you mean you gave yourself... to... him...?" Sasuke trailed off. I was briefly scared, but then I remembered that I didn't care if I died, as long as Sai was okay. I could go through anything as long as he was all right.

"That's right. I made love with him, and nothing you do can take that away from me." I said. I saw Sasuke lunge at me, but I was too slow to dodge it.

"If he left his mark on you, then I will just have to erase it with my own mark. You WILL love me!" Sasuke said. It was then that I realized he would do anything to make me love him again. I started to doubt his word about leaving Sai alone. However, I knew that I shouldn't shout or say anything. That would just be fuel for his fire.

"I will never love you." I said simply. He glared at me. I could see hatred in his gaze, but I didn't know if it was for me or if it was for Sai. Honestly, I didn't care. As long as I could keep Sasuke occupied with me, Sai had a better chance to get away and hide from him.

"I will prove you wrong." Sasuke said before he tore my clothes off. I knew it was coming, and I tried to stop him, but I couldn't. He grabbed my wrists and forced me arms above my head. I started to struggle, but he put more pressure on my wrists. So much so that it felt like they might break. I stopped struggling and let Sasuke have his way with me.

 _'I'm sorry Sai. Please forgive me. I don't want this, but he is too strong. I can't fight him.'_ I thought to myself. I hated the fact that I started to cry because it just proved to Sasuke that he was getting to me. I forced myself to stay quiet though. He wouldn't get a sound out of me, no matter how hard he tried.

When he was done taking off my clothes, he used his free hand and unzipped his pants. He took out his hard dick and lined it up with my entrance. I felt my eyes widen when I realized that he wasn't even going to try and prepare me. I was frantically trying to prepare myself mentally, and I just barely managed to steel myself not to cry out when he shoved inside of me. It hurt more than anything I had ever felt, but there wasn't anything I could do but take it.

Sasuke didn't even pause to let me adjust. He just started to thrust into me mercilessly. It took everything I had in me not to scream in pain. I bit down on the inside of my cheek so hard that I drew blood and still I bit harder. It was the only thing I could do to keep from crying. I felt so horrible. I felt like I was betraying Sai.

Sasuke, however, was very vocal. He kept moaning. It made me sick to my stomach, but I forced myself to not react to him. It didn't take long for Sasuke's thrusts to become erratic. I knew that he was close. I still forced myself not to react. When he came inside of me, I couldn't help the gag that forced past my lips. I felt like a slut. I had betrayed Sai. Sasuke pulled out and stood up. He took one look at me and left. Once he was gone, I couldn't hold it back anymore. I cried as hard as I had ever cried before. Sasuke just left me there, broken.

"Why Sasuke? What happened to you?" I whispered out loud. I barely managed to get my clothes on, gritting my teeth against the horrible pain that issued from my ass. I sobbed silently at the pain. I got my clothes on and tried to hide in a corner. I cried myself to sleep. I didn't want to fall asleep, but I was so exhausted that I couldn't stay awake anymore. Despite everything, I wouldn't have changed anything. If I wasn't there, Sai might have gotten this treatment. That thought alone was enough to stop the tears. When the tears stopped, I realized that I couldn't keep my eyes open.

 _'Sai...'_ Was my last thought before I fell asleep.

* * *

When I woke up, it took me a moment to remember what had happened the previous night. Once I remembered what had happened, I tried desperately to go back to sleep. Anything to get away from the pain. I was trying so hard to get to sleep that I didn't hear the crying. Once I realized it was hopeless to try and get back to sleep, I let my other senses back. I hear the crying, and was momentarily confused. I knew that Sasuke wouldn't cry for me, and the person that was crying sounded so familiar that it almost hurt. It sounded so much like Sai, even though I knew that there was no way he could be there. I opened my eyes and looked around.

"Naruto! You're awake! Thank heavens. I was so worried. Don't you ever do anything like that to me again." Sai said. I couldn't believe that he was there, so I decided that it had to be a dream.

"What's the matter Naruto?" Sai asked when he saw that I was crying.

"This is a dream. There is no way that you can be here. I want you to find me so bad that I must have dreamed it when I was asleep." I got out. I didn't want the dream to end.

"This isn't a dream Naruto. I went to Tsunade as soon as I could walk and she told me that she knew where you were. I ran here as fast as I could. I found you here and managed to lure Sasuke away. I am so sorry that I couldn't protect you Naruto." Sai said. I saw that he had started to cry as well. Even if it was a dream, I couldn't stand to see him cry. I grabbed his head and brought it down to mine. I kissed his lips and relaxed for the first time in what felt like ages. With one kiss, I knew that I wasn't dreaming. It was too real to be a dream.

When I realized how much danger Sai was in, I quickly broke the kiss. When I started to shove Sai towards the door, he looked at me strangely.

"What are you doing Naruto?" Sai asked.

"You need to get out of here. Once Sasuke learns that it is a trick, he won't hesitate to kill you. You have to go." I said. When Sai grinned at me, I faltered momentarily.

"You don't need to worry about that. I didn't come alone. Even I know that that would be stupid. I brought Kakashi and Iruka. They took him down really fast and I went ahead to find you. You don't have anything to worry about. Sasuke won't hurt you again." Sai said.

When I heard that, it took a minute for it to register. It just seemed too good to be true. Once it did register, I grinned at Sai and tried to tackle him. However, as soon as I got to my feet, I fell right back down.

"What's the matter Naruto?" Sai asked. I could hear the concern in his voice, and it hurt me to know that I might never hear it again after I told him what had happened.

"Sasuke raped me last night." I said. I heard Sai's gasp, which I was expecting. What I wasn't expecting, however, was for him to hug me tightly. It puzzled me for a minute.

"You aren't mad at me?" I asked.

"Of course not! You couldn't control what he did to you. There was nothing you could have done. I'm sorry that I didn't get here sooner. I am sorry that you had to go through that. I promise you that it will never happen again." Sai pledged. I actually believed him too.

"Come on. Let's get out of here. I don't want to be here a single second longer." I said. Sai nodded and picked me up.

"All right. I would like to know one thing though. How did Tsunade know where you were?" Sai asked.

"The day that I had to go to pick you up, Tsunade implanted a tracking chip in the back of my hand. That is how she knew. We both knew that Sasuke wouldn't be satisfied until he got me. This was the only way we could think of in order to save everyone." I replied.

"Wow. That was really smart. I am glad that you are okay. We need to go and report to Tsunade. She instructed me to go to her once we got you back." Sai said.

 _'We need to talk to Tsunade. She still has something to tell us.'_ I thought as Sai and I left.


	12. Secrets Come Out

 

It took Sai and me nearly an hour to get back to Konoha. On the way there, Iruka and Kakashi both caught up to us. I was happy when I saw that they seemed to be unharmed.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked them.

"Yeah. He didn't manage to hurt us at all. How are you?" Iruka asked.

"I am doing okay. As good as can be expected, given the circumstances. Thank you both. What happened to Sasuke?" I asked. I could feel Sai tense, but I looked at him and he relaxed.

"We may have gone a bit-" Iruka started before Kakashi interrupted.

"He's dead. He won't ever hurt you two again." He said. Iruka looked at him and I could tell that they were going to need to sort things out, so I quietly told Sai to go a bit faster. He seemed to get the message and sped up a bit.

When the two caught up with us again, they looked somewhat uncomfortable. They kept glancing at each other and glancing away when they caught each other. I found it somewhat funny because they were acting like children again.

When we walked through the gates, I was surprised with all of the people that were already there. There was half of the village. I was bombarded with questions and I tried my best to answer them. What got me the most was that all of them almost seemed sorry for me. They didn't act like they hated me. It made me wonder what happened while I was gone.

"What happened while I was gone?" I asked Sai. He looked at me and grinned.

"The Hokage forced all of the villagers to be treated like you were. They realized how bad they had treated you. This is their way of telling you that they were sorry." Sai said. That left me speechless. I couldn't see Tsunade doing something like that for me. It made my eyes start to water. Sai, who saw my eyes start to glisten, hurried me off towards the Hokage's mansion.

When we got there, I was surprised to see the door already open. I told Sai to set me down, and he did so, although I didn't miss the concerned look in his eye or the way he hovered over me. If it was anyone else but Sai, I would have been furious. With Sai, however, it made me smile. It proved how much he cared about me.

"Tsunade? Are you here?" I called out when I stepped inside. I saw a flicker of movement to my right and just prepared myself before I was enveloped in a huge, suffocating hug filled with boobs. When Tsunade released me, I saw tears on her face and I hugged her again.

"Thank goodness you are alright." She said. I could tell that she was happy to see me, so I decided to save the blackmail of seeing her cry for later use.

"Thanks to you and Sai." I replied. She looked at me and smiled slightly.

"Being humble doesn't suit you." She said.

"As you can see, Lady Tsunade, Naruto is fine. I will take my leave. I am sure that you will want to speak to Naruto privately." Sai said. He turned around, but didn't even manage to take a step before Tsunade stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait a minute. I promised Naruto something. I have to talk to you both." When she saw that he was still hesitant, she said the one sentence that I was the most shocked to hear about. "It's about your parents." With that, I saw Sai visibly stiffen and he turned back around. I could see the pain in his eyes, and I knew how he felt. It hurt when you didn't know who your parents were.

Tsunade walked to her office and we followed. She sat at her desk and motioned for us to sit in front of it.

"Now, Sai, when you were in here asking about your parents, I told you that I didn't know anything about them. I wasn't completely honest. I don't know much about them, but I do know that the belonged to an organization called The Root Foundation. If you want to know more about your parents, that is where you should look. However, I do know that continuing to look for them will be dangerous." Tsunade said. After that, she collapsed into her chair as if this information had been burdening her for years.

"I see. Thank you for telling me Lady Tsunade. Is there anything else you can tell me about The Root Foundation?" Sai asked. He kept his tone carefully neutral, but I could sense that there were a lot of emotions going on under the surface.

"Not really. If you want to look for them, then be on the lookout for a guy named Danzo. I hear that he is the leader of The Root Foundation, a disbanded section of the Anbu." Tsunade said.

"All right. Is there anything you can tell us about Danzo? What does he look like?" I asked. What Tsunade had told us wasn't much to go on.

"No. I'm sorry. There isn't much that is known about him. I wish you guys good luck though." Tsunade said. With that, Sai and I took our leave.

"All right. You go home and rest and I will be back as soon as I can." Sai said. I blinked in shock at him, but he didn't see. He had his back to me.

"Oh hell no. I am not going to let you go and do this alone. Not so soon after getting you back." I said. Sai turned around and I saw the worry that was in his eyes. I imagined that it was a mirror image of the worry that was in my own eyes.

"I don't want you to get hurt and you are still trying to recover from what Sasuke did to you." Sai said.

"I don't care! If you are worried because I am still healing, then stay here for another day. I will be better by tomorrow morning. Please." I begged. Sai took a deep breath and cast me a wry look.

"All right. One day. And if you aren't in peak physical condition, then I am going without you." Sai said. I smiled and kissed him.

"Thank you. I promise you that I won't drag you down." I said.

When I got to my apartment, I saw that there was a bunch of flowers and such at my door. I picked up a card and read it. It was from a guy named Shino. He said that he hoped I got better soon. I smiled slightly and Sai helped me bring the stuff inside.

"Aren't you going to go through this stuff?" Sai asked me when I made no move to touch the other objects.

"I just want to spend time with you right now." I said matter-of-factly. Sai smiled at me and cuddled up next to me on the couch. I rested my head on his chest.

"I never want this to end." I said softly. Sai brought my head up towards his and looked directly into my eyes.

"It never has to end Naruto. I love you with my entire being and that isn't going to change. You have set me free from my ties. For that, I will forever be in your debt." Sai said.

"How about we call it even and leave it at that." I said. Sai frowned slightly.

"Why would you want that?" He said.

"Because you also saved me. I would have found a way to die eventually, but you made me want to live again. Thank you Sai. Thank you so much." I said. Sai leaned in and kissed me. I kissed him back with my entire being. When we broke apart, we were both panting.

"What do you want to do now?" Sai asked. I thought it over for a minute before I made my decision.

"I want to start to learn to fight." I said. When I saw Sai start to protest, I hurried on. "I don't want to be helpless again like I was. Please." I begged. I saw him hesitate before he nodded.

"All right, but we will go easy for now. I don't want you to get hurt." Sai said. I nodded.

"All right. So, where do we start?" I asked excitedly.

"By stretching. If you don't stretch, you could irreparably damage your muscles. Not to mention, it will help you loosen up a bit." Sai said.

"Okay. Sounds good to me." I said. Sai showed me a series of stretches and I marveled at his flexibility. I couldn't even touch my toes, and Sai could bend his foot behind his head. After we stretched, Sai stood up. When I stood up, I found that a major part of the pain that I had been feeling just fell away.

"All right. The next thing that I need to do is to test your strength. Give me a punch. Don't hold back." Sai said.

"No. I can't do that. I won't punch you." I said. Sai looked at me and nodded.

"All right. We need to find something that won't break easily. Something that won't hurt you if you punch it." Sai said.

"There is an abandoned training field in the forest that I go to occasionally when I need to be alone. There are some trees there that are soft but strong. I could use them." I said. Sai nodded.

"All right. Lead the way." Sai said.

It took us nearly fifteen minutes to reach the training ground. When we got there, I smiled. I had almost forgotten about this place. It was the closest thing I had to a friend for so long. I walked up to the thickest looking tree.

"Is this one okay?" I asked.

"I have to check and make sure that it really is strong." Sai said before he punched it. I could tell that he used all of his strength, but the tree barely shuddered. I had never really tested my full strength before, but I was impressed with the strength of the tree.

"All right. This looks like it will work. Hit it with everything you've got." Sai said.

"Okay." I said. I swung my fist back and punched the tree with all of the strength that I had in me. To my surprise, I heard a huge cracking sound and watched as the tree fell over. I looked at Sai and he was looking at me with wide eyes.

"Sorry." I said sheepishly. My voice seemed to shake him out of his daze. He shook his head and focused on me.

"Why are you apologizing?" Sai asked.

"Because I knocked over the tree. I didn't know that I was that strong." I said.

"Naruto, that is nothing be sorry for. You just surprised me is all. You have a tremendous amount of strength, and you didn't even use it to its full advantage. Next time, focus all of your strength to your fist." Sai said.

"All right. I will remember that. Thank you Sai." I said. After that, we tried various ways for me to use my strength to its fullest. After an hour, we decided to call it quits. I was tired and I knew that I couldn't overwork myself, or I wouldn't be able to go the next day.

When we got back to my apartment, I faced Sai and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you for helping me." I said.

"I am doing it for me just as much as for you. I don't want you to get hurt like that again." Sai said.

"All right. I'm tired, so I think I am going to go to sleep. Care to join me?" I asked.

"I would be delighted to." Sai replied. I smiled at him and we both went to the bedroom. I started to strip and felt eyes burning into me. I turned around to see Sai staring at me with a slight blush on his face.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Aren't you going to leave your clothes on?" Sai asked. I laughed lightly at that.

"I usually sleep naked. I am more comfortable that way. Does it bother you?" I asked seriously. I wasn't going to do anything that made him uncomfortable.

"No. It doesn't. I just wasn't expecting it. Would you mind if I tried it?" Sai asked bluntly. I laughed and shook my head.

"Of course I wouldn't mind. Do what you want to do. You don't have to ask me." I said. I finished stripping and slid under the covers. When I looked at Sai, I found that he was still standing where he had been. He looked mildly uncomfortable. I took pity on him and spoke.

"You don't have to do anything that you don't want to do." I said. He looked at me and I saw his eyes harden. He started to take off his clothes and I watched, completely captivated. When he got down to his boxers, he hesitated.

"Come here Sai." I said. He did as I said and stood at the edge of the bed. I sat up and reached for him. When my fingers reached the hem of his boxers, I looked into his eyes. When he nodded, I pulled them down. He kicked them off and moved into the bed with me. I shuddered slightly when his body came into contact with mine. He snuggled up close to me and I marveled at the fact that our bodies fit together perfectly.

 _'I guess that means we are made for each other.'_  I thought. Not that I needed proof, but it was still nice to know.


	13. The Truth

 

When I woke up, Sai was still asleep. He was snuggled up against me and I smiled when I remembered how perfectly our bodies had fit together last night. When Sai moved, I felt a certain hardness press against me. I shivered and moved slightly as well. Sai moaned lightly when my body bushed against his erection. I moaned lightly in return.

 _'God. I know that I shouldn't want this so soon after what happened with Sasuke, but it feels so good. I want Sai. If this keeps going, I won't be able to control myself.'_ I thought. As if to prove a point, Sai started to grind against me. I gasped loudly and bit my tongue to stop any other noises from escaping. However, when Sai's erection slid in between my cheeks, I couldn't help the loud moan that escaped from my mouth and I felt my eyes roll back into my skull.

Apparently, the world loved to torment me because Sai woke up when I uttered the loud moan.

"Naruto?" He asked groggily. I froze and tried to stay still. However, Sai's erection made that nearly impossible. All I wanted was to feel his hardness across me. I shifted a bit and Sai moaned again.

"I need you." I said. I knew that I sounded needy, but I felt as if I had the right to be a bit needy. I just wanted the one person that I loved most to be with me in the one way that I wouldn't let anyone else be with me if I had a say in it.

"We can't. You still haven't fully healed." Sai said. I tried my best to get him to change his mind, but he was adamant. Eventually, I gave up trying to persuade him to make love to me, but it didn't change the fact that I needed release.

"Fine. But will you please touch me?" I asked. I was expecting him to say no right away, so it surprised me when he actually paused to consider it. I jumped at his hesitation and tried my hardest to get him to see things my way.

"Please! You won't run the risk of hurting me and make me feel good at the same time." I said. Then I realized how selfish I was being. Before Sai could do anything more than blink, I kissed him.

I used the distraction of his lips on mine to slid my hand in between our bodies and grasp his erection. I heard and felt him moan at the friction that simple act had caused. When he pulled away from the kiss, I caught sight of the accusatory look in his eye.

"That's cheating Naruto." Sai said. I laughed slightly and shook my head.

"No it isn't. I was being selfish and I hate to be selfish. I want to make you feel good too." I said. When Sai made no move to stop me, I went even further. I slid down his body and licked the head of his erection. He gasped and I controlled myself long enough for him to nod his head. I engulfed his erection and sucked, hard. He let out a strangled moan and I prided myself on making him let loose that kind of noise.

After a bit of sucking, Sai came in my mouth. I greedily drank it down and let his softening erection slip out of my mouth. He looked at me and I saw his eyes. I couldn't tear my eyes away from his and I shivered. They were darker than usual and I knew it was because I had pleasured him so much. We stared at each other for a long time before he finally moved. He shifted his body so that he could grab my erection. When he touched the heated flesh, it was like something in my snapped. I bucked my hips forward and cried out. He took the initiative and started to stroke my erection.

After a few strokes, I suddenly wanted more. He seemed to sense that and slid down my body, much like I had slid down his. He didn't wait for me to say it was okay; he just took me entire erection into his mouth and started to bob his head. I was grateful for that because I didn't know if I had the control over my body required to nod my head.

It didn't take long for me to come. When I did, I let loose a yell that I was sure could be heard for a mile in any direction. It took a good five minutes for my breathing to get back under control and for my heart rate to slow down. After that, I looked at Sai and smiled.

"Thank you love. I needed that." I said. He nodded and smiled at me as well.

"You're welcome. In case you couldn't notice, I needed it as well." Sai said. I laughed at that and, after a few seconds, Sai joined in. When we got our voices back under control, I remembered what was going to happen that day.

Sai sensed the change in my mood and I saw him remember as well. He looked at me and seemed to be thinking of something. Even though I hadn't known him for very long, I knew what he was trying to decide.

"I am going with you. Even if you leave me behind, I will follow you. Only thing is, I wouldn't have anyone to protect me when I am alone." I said. I saw his jaw clench a bit and I wondered if I had perhaps gone a bit too far.

"And if I took you to Iruka and Kakashi? What would you do then?" He asked. I had already thought of that, so I already had an answer. I just hoped that it would be enough.

"Do you really want to take that chance? I could get away from them easily enough." I said. I saw him contemplate what I had said and when he smirked, I knew that I was in trouble. I didn't even know that Sai  _could_ smirk.

"All right. You can come along. However, there will be a few rules. First of all, no sex. Second of all, you can't put yourself in danger recklessly. Third of all, if there is a fight, I am to handle it. If it seems like I am going to lose, I don't want you to jump in. I understand that one will be a bit hard to follow, so you can help only if I say that it is okay." Sai said. I thought over the rules and, seeing as they were harmless enough, so I agreed.

* * *

We set off about four hours later. We said bye to Iruka and Kakashi. We asked both of them if they knew anything that could help us, but neither had much. The most significant thing came from Kakashi. He said that Danzo was a very dangerous man and that he would probably be hiding far away from civilization. We thanked him and left.

* * *

I followed every one of Sai's rules, even though it was hard. I wanted to have sex with Sai, but I knew that I would be a distraction to his current goal. There were a few fights, but Sai managed to take care of them quite easily. Every time that he would win, he would interrogate them about Danzo. Every time, they would say that they had no idea what we were talking about. The one thing that made me respect Sai even more is that he never once killed anyone. I would have expected him to take care of them so that they couldn't try again, but he didn't seem to care.

Eventually, we got the breakthrough that we had needed. It came in the form of a hooded man. He told us exactly where to find Danzo. We knew that it was possibly a trap, but we also knew that we had to risk it. Sai tried to talk me out of going with him, but I refused to even consider it. I even went as far as staying up the entire night to make sure that he wouldn't leave without me. When Sai noticed this, he told me to go to sleep.

"I won't leave without you. I give you my word. Now get some sleep. You are going to drag us down if you are tired." Sai had said. I had to admit that there was truth to what he had said. I conceded and finally went to sleep, trusting Sai at his word. If it had been anyone else, I know that I wouldn't have trusted them at all. Then again, I probably wouldn't have gone with them if they had asked, let alone volunteered.

When I woke up the next day, I saw that he had kept his word. He was sitting at the edge of the fire, an intense gaze focused at me. I blushed under the scrutiny of his gaze and started to get up. It didn't take long for Sai and me to pack up camp and start to head out in the direction that the hooded man had said. We knew that it would take at least half a day to get there, so we wanted to get started as soon as possible.

* * *

It was around four in the afternoon when we got to the place the guy had told us of. It was just a small cave in theForestofDeath. No one would give it a second glance if they passed it. We walked in and were blinded by the lights that suddenly came on. After a few minutes of blinking, my vision cleared enough for me to make out the interior of the cave. It was bare save for a single chair in the middle of it. In it sat a man with a bandage over his eye. He reminded me of what a farmer would look like. He had the leathery looking skin and he looked like he wasn't a stranger to work.

"Well, well. It seems you made it. I wasn't expecting you for another day at least." The man said. When he spoke, I realized that I knew his voice.

"You! You were the hooded guy!" I said. He looked at me and I could see the amusement in his eye.

"Yes. I am." He replied.

"Then why would you have us come all of the way out here instead of talking to us directly?" I asked, slightly peeved about how much extra work we had to do. To my surprise, it was Sai who answered.

"He couldn't talk to us out there because we were being followed. The people who were following us decided that we were on a goose chase so they left." Sai said. I flushed slightly. I hadn't even noticed another presence.

"I assume you know why I am here Danzo." Sai said. I couldn't hear any emotion in his voice, and it made me start to worry.

"I do. But goodness me, my training seems to have been quite a success. No emotions, eh? It was because you were so young." He said. I gasped at that. I never knew that Sai had known this man before now. I looked at him and he looked slightly puzzled as well. Upon seeing this, Danzo laughed.

"Of course you don't remember. We erased that part of your memory. But anyways, I digress. You want to know about your parents. I knew them quite well. Your father was Masashi Kishimoto and your Mother was Kira Kishimoto. I am very sorry to be the one to tell you that both of your parents are dead." Danzo said. The thing that got me was that he actually sounded sorry.

"Why would you care about them? Why would you train me to feel no emotions?" Sai asked. I was watching Danzo, so I saw a trace amount of pain cross his features.

"I was very good friends with your father. He named me your godfather when you were born. I trained you to feel nothing because you asked me to. You didn't want to feel the pain that losing your parents had caused. I'm sorry. I know now that I shouldn't have done it, but I didn't see anything wrong with it at the time. I have some pictures, if you want to see what they look like." Danzo said. I saw Sai's eyes widen. He looked at me and I gave him a small smile, encouraging him to go on.

"All right. Please. Let me see them." Sai said. I could hear the tremor in his voice, and it made me feel better. I knew that he wasn't completely emotionless, but it still worried me when he acted as if he didn't have any emotions.

Danzo stood up and produced a picture book. I hesitated, not sure if I should be up there for it, but Sai caught my eye. He looked at me and I saw that he wasn't sure if he could do this alone. I nodded and stood next to him. He opened the book and got his first glimpse of his mother and father. His dad had black hair and eyes, like Sai. His mother had reddish brown hair and startling green eyes. He started to flip through the book and, near the back, was a picture of them holding a baby Sai. I looked at Sai and saw his eyes start to tear up a bit. I hugged him and he buried his face in my neck. I could hear him sob, and all I could do was rub soothing circles on his back.

By the time Sai got control over his emotions again, my neck was soaked. He sniffled and lifted his head again. Danzo looked a little tortured, and I felt for him. It must have been hard as hell to try and make someone feel nothing.

"Thank you Danzo. C-could I keep these?" Sai asked hesitantly.

"Of course my dear boy. They are yours. I see that you have begun to feel again. Maybe we can both start to heal now." He said to Sai before he turned to me. "Thank you for breaking Sai out of his shell. I owe you a debt of gratitude. I will not forget this. If ever you need me, come and find me here." He said before he left.

It took another half an hour before I felt it was time for us to start heading back to Konoha.

"Thank you for being there for me Naruto. I wouldn't have been able to do that without you." Sai said.

"Of course. I will always be here for you." I replied. He smiled at me and I smiled back.

* * *

It took the better part of the rest of the day to get back to Konoha. Once we were inside the gate, I turned to Sai.

"You go ahead home and I will meet you there. There is something that I need to do." I said, giving Sai my keys.

"Are you sure you will be okay?" Sai asked. I nodded and he started to walk back home. I waited until he was out of sight to go to the Hokage's mansion.

When I knocked, I was ushered in by Shizune. She took me directly to the Hokage's office and left without a word.

"Tsunade. We need to talk." I said. She turned around and studied me carefully.

"What is it? I'm busy." She said.

"Why did you have people follow Sai and me?" I asked bluntly.

"I did no such thing." She said, but I noticed how her eyes darted to the side, a sure sign that she was lying.

"Don't give me that bullshit. I know it was you. Don't lie to me." I said, my anger getting the better of me for a minute. I saw Tsunade sigh, and she leveled me with a gaze.

"Because he knows too much about this village. We can't risk him getting captured by someone who would mean this place harm." She said. That cooled my anger a bit, but I could still feel it threatening to boil over.

"You didn't need to do that. I know for a fact that he wouldn't betray this village. Leave him be." I said. Something in my voice must have startled her because she jumped slightly.

"All right. I won't pursue him anymore. It wastes valuable resources. I will trust your judgment on this Naruto." Tsunade said. I nodded and took my leave.

 _'I hope that Sai can get some closure now.'_ I thought as I was standing outside of my apartment door.

 


	14. The Big Question

 

When I opened the door, I saw that Sai was sitting on the couch. He looked up when I came in and smiled at me. I saw the sadness in his eyes, and it made my heart hurt. I hated it when he was in pain, but I didn't blame him. It hurt like hell when I realized who my parents were and that I would never be able to see their smiling faces, or hear them tell me that they were proud of me. It hurt more than I cared to admit.

"Hey Sai." I said. I didn't need to say anything else. I knew that he understood what I was saying. I was telling him that I would never leave him and that I would help him get through his pain.

"Hi Naruto." He said. I heard the sadness and insecurity in his voice. It told me volumes. He didn't know if he would ever be the same again. He didn't know what to think. He was scared of losing me.

I smiled at him and walked over to the couch. I sat right next to him and was a bit surprised when he laid his head on my chest. I wrapped my arms around him without hesitation. After a bit, I felt him start to shiver. I knew that he was crying due to the fact that I could feel the dampness on my chest. I rubbed his back in what I hoped was a reassuring gesture.

"It'll be okay. Just let it out. Don't bottle it up." I said. Sai shivered violently and sobbed. It nearly broke my heart, but I knew that I needed to stay strong for him. Even so, I let a few tears escape.

When one tear fell, of course it landed on Sai's head. It took him a minute, but he eventually realized what it was that landed on his head. He lifted his head so fast that I didn't even get a chance to wipe away my tears. He looked at me and I saw his face crumple a bit.

"I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to sit through this. You can leave if you want." Sai said. However, he didn't move. I knew that he was trying to protect me, but I saw through it. He wanted me to stay with him. I would be damned if I didn't give him that one thing after all that he has given me.

Instead of pushing him away, I just held him closer. He tensed for a few seconds before he relaxed. He started to cry a bit harder, but I knew that I would never leave him when he needed me. After about fifteen minutes, I felt his breathing start to slow. He still let out the occasional sob, but he seemed to be quieting down. After another couple of minutes, I knew that he had cried himself to sleep.

"It'll be okay Sai. I will never leave you when you need me." I said as I drifted off to sleep as well.

* * *

It had been three months since we came back and it finally looked as if Sai was starting to heal again. He laughed and smiled again. I couldn't tell you how relieved that made me. I thought that something inside of him had broken and that he wouldn't ever be happy again.

After another week, I felt it was ready to ask him the question. I took him to the top of the Hokage's mansion. As he was looking at the sunset, I got out a velvet box from my pants pocket and got on one knee. Sai, who had seen the movement, looked back at me.

"What are you doing Naruto?" Sai asked. From the tone of his voice, I knew that he knew exactly what I was doing. He didn't sound scared or anything, and that gave me the courage that I needed to speak.

"Sai Kishimoto, I love you with every fiber of my being and then some. I would do anything for you without question. I want you to stay in my life forever. Would you please marry me?" I asked. In the few seconds it took Sai to answer, I got more and more nervous. Finally, Sai smiled his most breath taking smile and nodded.

I grinned like a mad man and quickly got up. I put the ring, a simple silver band, on his ring finger. He looked at it and looked back at me. His eyes looked lighter than I had ever seen them, and I made a vow to get him to look at me that way as much as I could.

* * *

We decided not to tell many people. The only people that we did tell was Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, Danzo, and Iruka. I was the one who told Danzo and I got Tsunade to agree to let him come to the wedding.

That's another thing. We just wanted a small wedding. Nothing over the top or anything. We decided to have it on top of the Hokage's mansion, where I had proposed to Sai.

Iruka ended up being the best man, and Tsunade of course was the maid of honor. It was a simple ceremony and over before long. After it was over, we shoved cake into each other's faces and then licked it off (though I'm sure that Tsunade didn't approve of that, but we didn't rightly care). Once that was done, I thanked all of the guests.

"Thank you all for coming. I know that it is unusual for two guys to get married, but I challenge you to find a love more pure than the one that is shared between Sai and me. The only one that matches it is the one between Iruka and Kakashi. I want nothing more than to spend my entire life with him. Thank you for giving me that opportunity." I said, which was followed by cheering. I blushed slightly and took my place next to Sai again. However, I was soon pulled away by Iruka. He had tears in his eyes, but he was smiling happily.

"Congratulations Naruto. You two seem so happy together. I am glad that you two found each other. Who would have thought that you two would become so involved when Sai first came to my class. Well, it looks like there are other people that want to talk to you. I'll go now." Iruka said. I thanked him and he gave me a hug before leaving. The next person that I talked to was Kakashi.

"Congrats. You deserve happiness. I also wanted to thank you. If it weren't for you, I might not have gotten the courage to ask for Iruka's hand in marriage." Kakashi said. My eyes widened at this.

"You proposed? How did he take it? I bet he was really happy." I said. I saw the corners of Kakashi's mask lift, and I knew that he was smiling.

"He was ecstatic. You are the first person that we have told. Anyways, thank you. You have touched our life in more ways than one. I want you to know that if you ever need anything, you need only ask." Kakashi said.

"Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me." I said honestly. I wasn't expecting something like that. After that, Kakashi, walked away. I talked with Tsunade next.

"Hey there brat. It seems that you have gotten it pretty good. That Sai is a looker." She said, and then laughed at the glare that I gave her.

"Oh come on. I am the Hokage. I am allowed to make fun of my second favorite person." She said. It took a minute for that to sink in, but then I blushed at the unexpected comment. That was rare for her. It made me wonder who her favorite person was. Then I caught her looking at Jiraiya. I smirked at that.

"You should go talk to him, you know. I am pretty sure that he likes you." I said. She whirled around to face me, but I was already gone. I did, however, see the small smile on her face.

Jiraiya was next, and I decided to help Tsunade out a bit. I was just that nice.

"Hey Naruto. Congrats. I never pegged you for a gay guy, but it doesn't surprise me. You have always been so willing to help me with my research." Jiraiya said. When I caught on to what he was saying, I had to hold back a gag. I couldn't imagine Jiraiya as more than a friend.

"Yeah, well I am pretty sure that you are reading too far into it. By the way, you should go and talk to Tsunade. She looks a bit lonely." I said, giving him a wink. I danced away before he could question me any further. When Tsunade started to giggle, I actually laughed.

The last person that was there was Danzo. He looked mildly uncomfortable, but I couldn't blame him. It must be hard for him.

"Thank you for coming Danzo. I wasn't sure if you were going to be able to make it." I said. I saw him give me a smile.

"I wouldn't have missed this for the world. You are lucky to have a guy like him. He deserves to be happy. And from what I have heard, he is pretty lucky to have you too. Be sure to treat him well. I don't think he could survive another heartbreak." Danzo said.

"I would never do that to him. I love him with all of my heart. There is no way I could intentionally hurt him." I said. And I meant it. Danzo looked into my eyes piercingly then nodded.

"I believe you. Thank you for breaking him out of his shell. He didn't deserve to go through his entire life without any emotions." Danzo said.

"I didn't do much." I replied. Danzo laughed slightly and walked away.

After I talked with all of the guests, I made my way back to Sai. I immediately felt more at ease when I was next to him. He looked at me and smiled. He looked so god damn gorgeous and kind that I paused for a minute.

 _'He's mine! How the hell did that happen?'_ I asked myself. It just seemed so surreal. I never thought that I would ever get a chance at happiness. And here it was, all wrapped up in one person. There was no way in hell I was going to give him away if he didn't want to go. I would love him with everything that I had, and more. I knew that I wouldn't be able to live without this kind of connection with someone. And it was truly a once in a lifetime kind of love.

Sai saw me staring and took my momentary distraction as an excuse to kiss me. I blinked my eyes a couple of times before they shut fully. I kissed him back, but parted from him when there were a few coughs.

"It's time for the dancing." Jiraiya said. I blushed slightly, but nodded. The music started and everyone got close to their partners. I saw that Danzo gave Sai and me another smile before slipping away. I didn't blame him. I would have to see what I could do about getting him a home back in Konoha.

Sai wrapped his arm around my waist and dragged me to the dance floor. I smiled and chuckled slightly. I pulled him close to me and started to sway back and forth. I didn't really know how to dance all that well, so I made do with what I could do. Sai didn't seem to mind.

"I love you Sai. So much more than words could ever express. Thank you for staying with me." I said. I felt him shift his head so that he could look at me. He smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back. His smile was just so contagious.

"You don't need to thank me for that. The feeling is mutual. I will never let you go. You will be stuck with me even when we are old and feeble, and then some." Sai said. I laughed at that, and Sai joined in. I guess that living like I had had been a good thing. I know that I would have taken all of this for granted if I had been given this kind of attention from the very beginning. As it was, I vowed that I would cherish every moment that I had with Sai.

* * *

Once the dancing was done, everyone started to take their leave. Tsunade left in Jiraiya's arms, and Iruka and Kakashi soon followed. We walked back to my apartment, staying as close to each other as possible. We passed a few people on the street, but we didn't rightly care what they thought about us.

Once I opened the door, I pulled Sai close to me and kissed him. It grew in passion until we were both panting for breath. However, I knew that I couldn't take him then. We had a plane to catch. I had planned the honeymoon and we were going to go to theLandofGreens. I chose that place because I knew that we could get some peace and privacy there. Not to mention that the place is rather breath taking. Sai had approved, so we packed up before the wedding. Now, all that was left was to get there.

I also knew that I would be able to get a good house there for a bit. I was friends with the land's feudal lord. She and I helped each other once upon a time, and I knew that she would be happy to see me again.

"All right. Are you ready to go?" I asked. Sai nodded, and we were off.

 _'I am so happy! I have true love! I never thought that it was possible. To whatever gods or goddesses there are, thank you for this amazing gift. I promise to cherish it.'_ I thought, and then I followed Sai.

 


	15. The Honeymoon

 

It took us two days to travel to the Land of Greens. When I entered the village, a bunch of people ran up and greeted me. I smiled at them and nodded. We made our way to the feudal lords' mansion. I knew that Lady Haruna would be there. She was the one to talk to to get a house that Sai and I could use.

I walked up to the gate and it immediately swung outward. Lady Haruna strode out and smiled at me. I smiled back and gave her a hug.

"Naruto. It's been too long. You should have told us that you were coming. We would have set up a room in my home for you." She said.

"Thank you for the generous offer, but I would actually like a house away from the village. Just for a few days. I just got married. Meet my husband, Sai. Sai, this is Lady Haruna, the feudal lord of the Land of Greens." I said. Haruna raised her eyebrow at me, but I saw that she had accepted it. She held out her hand and Sai took it.

"I see. You two are on your honeymoon? I am grateful that you chose our land to hold it at." Lady Haruna said. I smiled at that.

"Well, I loved it here when I visited you before. I have always enjoyed the quiet life, and this seems like the perfect place for that to happen. Do you think we could borrow a house in the country for a few days?" I asked hopefully. I never really paused to consider what would happen if she said no.

"Of course! Anything for you. It just so happens that we have a lovely cottage next to a lake. We recently had to evict the tenants because they couldn't keep up with the rent. I will lend it to you this one time. I hope that you two have a good time. Come and see me before you leave." She said. She gave me one more hug, Sai another handshake, and then left. A few moments later, a man came out and told us to follow him.

When we got to the cottage, I felt my jaw drop. It was the most stunning sight I had ever seen, next to Sai. It was made of what looked like rocks from a riverbed. They were smoothed down and they fit together perfectly. It was almost as if they were made for this purpose. It had a simple roof and a cobblestone walkway. Behind it was the lake with a perfect view of the horizon. I could understand why the other people had gotten evicted. It looked like it would cost a fortune to stay in it for any length of time.

"Wow! This is beautiful! Would you please tell Lady Haruna that I am extremely grateful for her hospitality?" I told the man. I gave him some money for his troubles, and he left, leaving me and Sai alone at last.

"What do you think of it Sai?" I asked, taking his hand in mine. I looked at him and he turned his head towards me.

"It's beautiful." He said, though I had a feeling he wasn't talking about the view. I laughed and pulled him in for a kiss. I lingered a bit longer than necessary and pulled back slowly. I just didn't want to let him go. Sai must have sensed this because he laughed.

"Don't worry Naruto. I am right here. I am yours. Forever and always." He said. I smiled at that thought.

"You know, I think I rather like the sound of that. I think I could get used to it. Shall we break the house in?" I asked playfully. Sai smiled mischievously and nodded.

The inside of the house was just as spectacular as the outside. The floor was made of highly polished oak, and I knew that if I had my socks on, I would go flying across it. The walls had a few pictures on them. There was a picture of a ship caught in a storm, a scenic view of a beach, and a picture of the sunset. There was a fireplace with a mantle over it. On the mantle was an assortment of fantastic seashells. There was an elegant looking couch in the middle of the room. A T.V. was hanging on the wall, and there was a collection of DVDs in a glass case against the wall.

"Wow. This is amazing. I would hate to know how much rent is on this place." I said aloud.

"I agree." Sai said. I turned my gaze from the living room to my husband. (I would never get tired of saying that.) I looked at him and he looked at me. There was a spark in his eye and I knew that it was mirrored in my own. I got up close to him and kissed his lips with a ferocity that left both him and me gasping for breath.

"I need you Naruto." Sai said when we broke apart for air. The way he said it, with his voice deep with lust, made me weak in the knees. I grabbed him and dragged him with me. I didn't even pay attention to the surroundings. I opened a door and found a bed in it. I dragged him in with me and kissed him again. I pushed him backward towards the bed. When his knees hit the edge, he collapsed onto it, effectively breaking our kiss. I took a second to admire him. His pale skin, kiss bruised lips, and rumpled clothing.

After I got my fill, I started to take off his shirt, exposing his chest and stomach. He helped me take it off and then quickly removed my shirt as well. I hugged him close to me and reveled in the skin on skin contact. I knew that I would never get enough of it no matter how long I lived. It was just too addicting.

"I love you so much Sai." I said. I needed him to know it as surely as he knew his own name. I knew that it was asking a lot, but I couldn't help it.

"I love you too Naruto." He said. I smiled and kissed him again. It didn't take long for the kiss to escalate in heat and passion. Once it reached a peak, I couldn't hold back anymore. I needed more. I all but ripped the rest of our clothes off. I ground down into him and groaned at the dry friction it caused. Sai arched his back and I marveled again at the beauty of him. I attached my mouth to his neck and bit down. I bit down hard enough to leave a bruise, but not hard enough to break the skin. I didn't want to hurt him, after all.

"More Naruto! I need more!" Sai said. I groaned with suppressed need and got up. Sai started to protest, but I silenced him with a finger to his lips. I rummaged through my travel bag and pulled out a bottle of lube. I went back to Sai and kissed him quickly. I opened the lube and poured a generous amount on my fingers. I put the first one at his entrance.

"Please Naruto!" Sai said. I whimpered and pushed the first finger in. He groaned and arched his back. I added a second finger, wanting to see his limits, but he just moaned loudly and panted. I decided not to push it further and started to stretch him. After he was a bit more loose, I added the third finger. He winced a bit at that, but he didn't look like he wanted to stop. I pushed it completely in and started to scissor my fingers. After a bit, Sai started to squirm, and I knew that he was starting to get impatient.

I took my fingers out and quickly, but thoroughly, lubed up my erection. I placed the tip at his entrance, but he pushed back against me hard enough to get the head to slip past the tight ring of muscles. I groaned and couldn't stop my hips from thrusting forward. I leveled out and tried to give Sai time to adjust, but he seemed to have other ideas. He slid back away from me a bit, and I shuddered at the feeling of the muscles contracting around me. When he pushed back against me, I couldn't hold back any longer. I started to pound into him at a furious pace. I briefly wondered if I was hurting him, but I couldn't focus on it for long. He didn't seem like he was in pain, and that was good enough for me.

"Oh God Naruto! So good, so good." Sai said. I moved a bit faster at that and changed the angle. When I thrust back in again, Sai arched his back and screamed at the top of his lungs. He came all over our chests, and I couldn't hold back any longer. I came inside of him so hard that I almost blacked out.

Once we calmed down, I snuggled closer to him and wrapped my arms around him. I covered us both up, seeing as how he was already fast asleep, and feel asleep shortly afterwards.

* * *

Three days later, we left the Land of Greens. Sai was still limping from our 'activities', and it made Lady Haruna smile. She told us to be good and to visit her soon. We promised that we would and left. It was the start of a relationship that would last throughout the ages. And it all started in school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that concludes this story. I hope you enjoyed it.


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